First Times
by Alisha Winchester Collins
Summary: A series of Coulson/Skye drabbles based on their 'first times' together! Better summary inside!
1. Skye dreams about Coulson

**It's here! Finally... the first of many chapters to come in this new drabblish fanfic... apologies for the delay, I know it was supposed to be uploaded much earlier but I'm having a little trouble with a chapter or two but no worries, this is ready! In case everyone is wondering where the Prologue disappeared to, I removed it because the order and the topics have changed slightly... not to mention, decreased a little! I've decided to make this an 18 chapter story so that I can start work on my new and untitled full-length fic along with another chapter of Unknown Origins! Until then... enjoy "First Times" with an opening scene that I've _never_ written before but I hope its good! ^_^**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel hence I don't own AoS or its characters.**

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_His__ lips are like fire to her soul as each kiss ignites a glorious inferno of passion within her that she never knew was part of her. This is the side of herself that only he brings out whenever they are together; but tonight, he seems determined to exceed all levels of her sanity, caressing her skin as his hands slide under the shirt she is wearing and grinning into the kiss when he hears her soft moan. Reaching out, she begins to unbutton his shirt first before moving for his belt and fumbles blindly with the clasp, not willing to break the kiss just yet. Within seconds all their clothes are on the floor and he's lifting her in his arms, carrying her to his__ bed__.__ For a moment they break apart to take a breath and she stares up at him as she notices the scars across his chest, daring to reach out to touch the biggest one of them all. This was the wound that tore through his heart... it is nothing but a reminder of that incident now and she runs a finger over the rough skin. His only reaction to this is to gaze at her in awe as he realizes that this was not what he had thought the woman in his arms would do when she finally saw the remnants of all the wounds marring his body. Their eyes meet again and she smiles; there is no need for her to say anything because he understands everything she wants to tell him without words, just as they have always understood each other in the past. He knows that she still loves him, scars and all, nothing would change that truth, so he reaches down to capture her lips with his own once again. She responds in return by wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him closer to her, finally parting her lips as the kiss deepens while he continues to explore every inch of her glorious body with his fingers; trailing from her cheek down to her shoulder and finally reaching her waist where he settles his hands before doing the same with his mouth, leaving gentle kisses on her neck first and then... she feels those soft lips on her stomach... her hands are tangled in his hair... she knows where the next kiss is going to be..._

_"Phil... oh! Phil!" His name falls from her lips as her eyes close the moment she feels him move lower towards her waist._

"Oof!" Skye is suddenly jerked awake as she feels a bump coursing through the Bus. "A turbulence?" She asks herself as she sits upright in her bed, realizing what the disturbance with the plane could mean. It takes her even less time for the thoughts to come rushing back to her... the dream. With her. And Coulson. Together. In bed. "Oh!" Her eyes widen and she covers her mouth with one hand. Images of what she had just dreamed flow through her mind as she remembers everything, all the while trying not to freak out over the fact that they... it was a good thing that she happened to wake up when she did.

"Skye?" A knock is heard from outside her bunk. "Are you awake?" Its him. Skye inwardly groans as she recognizes the voice; for a moment she debates whether she should open the door and let him know that everything is okay. The other option seems ridiculous to her and so, almost automatically, she finds herself getting up from her bed and walking over to step outside and come face to face with the man of her dreams. _In_ her dreams. Coulson.

"Hey A.C, what happened?" She hopes her voice sounds normal enough and not laced with the ecstasy she swore she never heard herself ever speak even in her dreams before tonight.

"We seem to have come across the freak thunderstorm that May warned us about earlier this evening. She's trying to fly the Bus around most of the clouds but its likely we might hit another mild turbulence in a few minutes." Coulson explained to her before continuing, "I just wanted to check on you and the others to see if everything was okay."

"Oh. Yeah... yeah, I'm fine. I was out like a bulb; didn't realize we went through a turbulence until that tiny bump just now. I'll be okay." Skye rambled as she tried not to fidget, wrapping her arms around her shoulders casually.

"Alright, well I better go and see FitzSimmons. Ward is co-piloting with May so hopefully we'll get out of this soon. Goodnight Skye." There it was. That smile of his, soft and caring just like he was. Skye had to mentally whack herself before she could start shaking her head from thoughts like this while Coulson was still in front of her.

"Goodnight A.C." She whispered as she saw him heading away from her bunk towards Fitz and Simmons'. Without waiting for anything else she slipped back inside her room and locked the door, breathing deeply as she sank to the floor not bothering to walk back to her bed just yet.

Holding her head in her hands, Skye tried to control her thoughts and focus them away from her dream but no matter what she tried, flashes of everything kept coming to her - those kisses against her neck, the feeling of his hands under her shirt, hearing her own voice _moaning_ his name. Her eyes snapped open at that last memory as Skye knew that she could feel her cheeks turning red.

"What am I doing?" She asked herself, wondering if talking aloud would help her figure this out easily or not. Leaning against the cool metal door, Skye sighed as she let all the images wash over her mind.

This was the first time she had ever dreamed about Phil Coulson. Of course the thoughts had always been there; she'd only recently managed to accept that her weird behavior around him lately was due to the fact that the innocent crush she continued to harbor for him ever since day one, was slowly turning into something slightly more serious. It was a silly thing to think about at first. Skye having feelings for Coulson? If it didn't feel so real to her she might have even laughed at her own theory, but she couldn't. And that was when she realized that all the emotions she was experiencing were only increasing towards him. In spite of all this, over the last few weeks, nothing had really happened in terms of her saying anything to anyone on the team about this nor had she dreamed about him. Until tonight.

"Why?" Skye wondered, secretly hoping that Coulson was already back in his office and not walking past her bunk this very second. "The office!" She gasped as it hit her. That was where everything had started.

Almost reflexively, Skye glanced up to her bedside where a small digital clock was visible from her view on the floor. The time was a quarter past 3 in the morning. It had already been several hours since her last encounter with him but obviously that seemed to have stayed in her mind which somehow warped itself into a dream. And now that she remembered, it was no surprise about what she imagined. Skye had gone to Coulson's office at 10 o'clock to ask him about their next mission; why she didn't wait until morning to speak to him with the rest of their team present was something she doubt she would ever find out. Being the ever-so impatient hacker that she was, Skye figured getting some of the details beforehand was okay with Coulson; it would give her something to work on mostly. A knock on the door, one innocent knock had led her to step inside his office and come face to face with... Coulson obviously. At the same time Skye thought in that second this wasn't him.

_"Skye?"_ _His voice certainly sounded the same and his face looked the same to her. It was still Coulson. For the most part. _

Her eyes had widened in surprise when she entered the room to find him standing with his back to her, unbuttoning the sleeves of his shirt. And then he turned around when she hadn't said a word; his jacket was lying draped across the desk and a quick glance to the floor showed Skye that his shoes and socks were also lying there. The moment she glanced back to where he stood, watching her carefully, she noticed that his shirt was open. Not completely, no... but the top _three_ buttons were and he wasn't wearing anything underneath. It lasted only a few seconds but for some reason, seeing Coulson only a few feet away from her like this made her think of only one thing. What it would be like to see him without that shirt on. As soon as the thought entered her mind, she almost gasped out loud; this was when she realized that everything was really happening - she was in Coulson's office at a time when he was definitely changing his clothes for bed and she had walked in halfway to see him almost shirtless and she really wanted to know what that would be like.

"_I... umm... sorry. Its nothing. Nothing at all A.C." Skye even recalled the nervousness in her voice as she had immediately turned around to leave. "Goodnight!" She had said as she nearly ran out and made straight for her bunk, almost bumping into Ward, May and FitzSimmons one after the other. _

And now here she was, awake from that very vivid dream which Skye pretty much guessed would not be the only one she would be having about Coulson. Sighing to herself again, she got up from her place on the floor and stumbled into bed as she stared at the ceiling of her bunk, thinking about what all this could mean.

_"You already know what this means."_ A voice in her head spoke up. Clearly there was part of her which was determined to get these feelings sorted out tonight itself.

"How on earth am I supposed to know what all this could possibly mean?" Skye wondered out aloud, asking herself the question before realizing what she was doing, "Oh great, now I'm having a conversation with my mind. This keeps getting better and better." Squeezing her eyes shut, she hoped that maybe there was a chance of her falling asleep soon enough without having to worry about the dream coming back to her.

_"Think Skye! Think! Meeting Coulson twice in one night. The dream. Your feelings. Add it all up."_ She could literally hear her mental mind yelling at herself and so Skye resigned almost immediately to listen to her own suggestion. The sooner she actually knew what was going on, it would be easier to figure out what her next step was going to be.

This time when she relaxed her mind and made sure her eyes weren't open, Skye always knew she could think best like this, she thought back... not just to what had happened a few hours ago but everything that she had experienced ever since she had come face to face with Phil Coulson; the day he had found her in L.A hiding out in the van. The moment she sat with him in Lola was really when Skye knew... in her heart and in her mind... that things would be different from then. In spite of not knowing what she was getting herself into, at least not that day itself, she hadn't felt anything but a sense of... hope. Hope for things to finally change in her life, hope for some happiness and some _good_ to experience, hope for finding a place where she could be herself and still belong. Coulson had given her this chance and while she may have faltered at the beginning, it was realizing how much her betrayal had hurt him which in turn hurt herself just as much, that she knew it would never happen again.

"Feelings... think about the feelings." She repeated to herself, knowing that she was purposely distracting her thoughts from the main objective.

_"Don't forget to think about why you're avoiding this topic."_ There it was. Her rational mind speaking up again and giving Skye the push she needed.

"I'm avoiding thinking about this topic because I'm scared!" She answered herself instantly as if the words had been lingering on her tongue ever since the beginning of this... self-intervention thing she was going through.

_"Scared of what?"_ Another nudge. Another question which was bringing her one step closer to the truth of this matter about her feelings for Coulson.

"Scared of... of what the feelings might turn out to be! That it's silly and not possible and not even something serious. And that he isn't going to feel the same way obviously because he's my boss and he's older than me and he definitely hasn't even considered the fact that..." She stopped rambling then and sat upright, barely noticing that her breaths were slightly uneven now.

_"That...?" _Skye was pretty sure she could hear her inner-voice actually sound like it was filled with glee and grinning all over with just that one word which was making her realize just what 'that' meant.

"No. No no no..." Skye was starting to piece things together at last. The realization, the understanding, the revelation that she was having. It needed to stop. Before it was too late and there was nothing she could do about it. There was no way she would even think about... it was just a crush. Or maybe an attraction. Nothing more than an infatuation! Surely it couldn't be...

"Love." The four lettered word was finally spoken and there was no going back from this. "Oh my god." She had said it out loud; obviously there was no other explanation for everything she was feeling and thinking but the one thing. "I love Coulson." Skye whispered and then noticed a sense of peace filling her as she finally admitted to herself that this was the truth.

For the next several minutes she remained seated in bed, not noticing that the plane was starting to go through another wave of turbulence just like Coulson had warned her about. She just sat and let the feeling of being free from the constant confusion over the last few days settle in. Skye didn't know what she would have expected from herself when she finally accepted that she loved Coulson but given her reaction as of this moment, it was definitely better than anything else. By now, she knew it was mainly because of the dream... her first real dream about him, which led her to confronting herself about these feelings. She was aware that the voice in her head was part of her that already knew she was in love; and now that Skye was past this first stage of acceptance, she smiled to herself when she settled down to sleep at last knowing it would be a pleasant night ahead. Plus she had stopped talking to her mind so that was a bonus. Unfortunately, the second her head touched the pillow, there it was... the unmistakable serious inner-voice.

_"This is just the beginning for us Skye! We have to figure out what to do _about_ the fact that you love Coulson! Are you going to tell him? Are you not going to tell him? What if he says he doesn't feel the same way or maybe he _does?"

The only thing Skye did in response to all these new questions that suddenly were sprung upon her was to grab the second spare pillow she had borrowed from Simmons and covered her head with it, blocking all thoughts and voices for tonight. All she wanted to do was sleep and enjoy a few hours of blissful happiness. Perhaps she would end up having another dream about Coulson again; with that hope in mind and a grin on her lips, Skye finally drifted off.

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**Well... well... well...? Thoughts or reviews or something?**


	2. First Touch

**2 chapters at the same time... surprise! I just wanted to give you all something more to look forward to this weekend cause I'll probably need this whole next week to write up the following 3 chaps since they're directly linked together! Without further ado, here is the first 'touch' scene! ^_^**

**Disclaimer: Nothing is mine.**

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Three days. That's how long it had been since the night Skye had dreamed about Coulson and realized that she loved him; ever since then it was only a matter of few hours before she came to the conclusion that she was going to tell him about her feelings. This happened the following morning which was two days ago, but there was still no sign of Skye attempting to make her move. Although it did seem that she was able to behave like her old self around him again and he definitely did not fail to notice it. Luckily for her, in the beginning his reaction towards her was the same like it always was and they had fallen into their regular routine of work now that the next mission was being planned out, and yet... Skye couldn't help but wonder if there would be something of a sign from Coulson... a small tiny smidgen of _anything_ to help her figure out 'how' she was going to say the words outright to him. What she hadn't expected was the kind of sign she had received only minutes ago. Or was it an hour? More than that? One thing she knew for certain now... instead of focusing on 'how' Skye was concerned only about 'when' she was going to tell Coulson that she loved him. And it was all because of a single touch.

If Skye was going to get technical about this, then _technically_ Coulson had done so earlier before when he had shown her a simple gesture of a light and comforting touch on her shoulder sometimes or against her back. This was different altogether though. What she had just found herself experiencing was certainly the first of a touch which fueled her hope that maybe these feelings of hers were not entirely one-sided. Of course it was too soon to be sure and all she had to go on was one touch which, although did linger a little more than expected, didn't prove anything yet. However, unlike the previous instances, this time, Coulson's touch had caught Skye off guard and left her breathless for a second. Of all the touches she had ever thought of - his hand reaching out to grasp hers or even to hold her wrist, a soft touch to her cheek, his fingers brushing against her ear as he tucked a strand of hair behind it - _this_ was definitely not something she had dreamed of but was secretly bursting with a slight giddiness at the memory of what his touch had been like. The team's weekly meeting to discuss their plans had finished around dinner time and after a nice meal in the kitchen, Skye took her work over by the bar with Ward for company while FitzSimmons returned to the lab. Shortly before midnight, the young hacker had been vaguely aware that her friends had bid her goodnight as they all headed for their bunks; she was caught up in running several programs simultaneously and relocated to the bar so that she would get space to arrange all the documents she was printing.

When Coulson walked in after spending the better part of the last few hours in his office, deciding to have a late night drink, he wasn't surprised to see Skye sitting there with her head buried in the laptop and surrounded by various... cards? He knew that she was determined to finish the bulk of work soon since the important stuff had been assigned to her but also realized she probably hadn't taken a breather since before dinner.

"Skye..." His voice was soft as he walked towards the bar and got her attention. She looked up from her laptop and smiled when she saw him standing there.

"Hey A.C, I didn't know you were here." Skye said to him, pausing her work momentarily. "What time is it?" Barely able to stifle a yawn, she blinked several times before turning to face the screen again.

"Almost midnight. Are you still working on the I.D cards?" He asked, sitting down on the only empty barstool beside her. Glancing around the counter, Coulson noticed a few fancy invitations and gilded envelopes spread out along with 6 new card laminations which were currently empty.

"Yeah, I'm just about done with the last one. I didn't realize it was so late." She mumbled in reply, much more aware of his close proximity to her than the work she was doing on the laptop; she just hoped that she wasn't making it too obvious.

For a moment, Coulson simply watched Skye as she typed extremely quickly, pursing her lips together and a tiny frown forming on her forehead; he had seen her use those special hacking skills of her before but this time was different, the mission was a highly sensitive one and because it required all six of them to go into the field everything had to be impeccable without even a single piece of information going wrong. Skye was the only person qualified to get the details sorted out and he had complete faith in her. Still, it was... amusing to see her just then. Sitting at the bar with the lights of the Bus illuminating the room in a soft glow only enchanced her features and he felt as if he were just noticing how beautiful she looked.

_"Beautiful? Did I just...?" _Coulson was surprised at himself when he thought of the word 'beautiful' in his mind. Not that Skye wasn't beautiful, she was. Quite pretty in fact if he was being completely honest with himself. _"Where are all these thoughts coming from! She's... she... is beautiful. But why am I thinking about her so much?"_ He wondered. Before he could do anything else he was suddenly very aware that she was staring up at him with those lovely brown eyes of hers.

"A.C? You... uh... you feeling okay?" Skye hadn't heard Coulson say anything to her in the last few minutes and wondered what happened; when she looked to him she noticed that he seemed to be thinking deeply about something. Curiosity got the best of her and so Skye spoke up. That, and the fact of enjoying his presence with her was calming and she wasn't about to let it go just yet.

"Yes. Yes, everything is fine Skye. I was just thinking..." He stopped for a moment, unable to break away from her gaze before going on, "About why I came here. To get a cup of hot chocolate; and I thought maybe you could use one too." He added as an afterthought.

"Oh!" Skye's eyes widened a little when she heard him offer her the best cure from all this work she had been doing. "Hot chocolate is my guilty pleasure. I'd love some. Do you need any help?" She asked, briefly debating if that was a good idea or not but she went with it.

"I'm sure I can manage. Besides you have your work to finish up." He smiled at her as he stood up to walk around to the opposite side behind the bar and began to search for the necessary ingredients.

"True and I'm just about finished so I'll let you make the cocoa." Skye grinned before turning back to her laptop. She had not expected this would be the way her night would end but she was definitely glad Coulson came when he did.

Several minutes passed by in a comfortable silence between the two of them; Coulson didn't take much time to whip up two mugs of steaming hot chocolate and by the time he passed it around to Skye, she finally closed her laptop and let out a deep sigh of relief. There was no way she would have let the opportunity to pass by with her continuing to work while sharing a nice quarter of an hour with Coulson having cooca together. And although she had no idea about the things which were going on in his mind at that time, Skye knew that maybe this was the chance. It could be too early to say anything to him right now and since she wasn't feeling certain about the timing then maybe she would be content to simply relax and indulge herself in the experience of spending a quiet night on the Bus with no one else around the two of them. Who would break the silence first though? Him or her? She briefly considered saying something about the work she finished but he already knew everything that there was to know... Almost. As if reading her mind, Coulson decided to speak up.

"Now that your work is done Skye... are you going to tell us about the new identities you've made?" He was curious to know what she had thought of.

"I will. Just not yet." She answered him with a simple enough reply and then continued, "Maybe I could show you yours?" Skye swore in that second when the question left her lips she felt her heartbeats increasing, which was silly of course, this was routine work and Coulson was here next to her already.

"Is that alright with you?" Coulson didn't mind waiting until everything else was prepared and ready to be handed out to the others when the time came. At the same time he was a little intrigued behind what Skye had done.

"Of course it is A.C!" Skye exclaimed, looking excited at the idea of showing her work to him; after all, she had spent the last several hours on it all. "The passports will be ready by tomorrow but for now, I've completed the main identity backgrounds for everyone and here are the I.D's we'll be using." Picking up one of the laminated cards from the table she handed it over to Coulson.

"Ah... this is interesting." He commented, a small smile forming on his face when he examined his new, temporary identity.

"Do... do you like it?" Unable to help herself, she blurted out the silly question and then wondered why it was something she needed to worry about.

"I do. I think it'll fit nicely with yours... May I?" Spotting her picture amongst the other batch, Coulson gestured to it and waited until he saw Skye nod. "You've chosen a lovely name for yourself too." He held both the cards in one hand for a moment before placing them back with the others.

"Thanks. I know they're just names but I figured we all could use something different." Skye said, not really explaining herself to him but just talking about her reasoning behind the choices, "Except for May... but I get why she wanted to stick with her own name. Melinda sounds nice." She finished, wondering what she could say to him next.

"That it does, but at least she agreed to let you work up a new background story. May never really likes these undercover missions..." Coulson stopped for a second and Skye noticed his voice turning serious as he went on, "But this is a highly sensitive matter that S.H.I.E.L.D. needs to handle before things get out of control, even if it means infiltrating a highly secure and near-impossible to infiltrate place by dressing up with fake names and getting the job done."

"And we will get it done. With all of us going in together, the chances of our success are higher than if it was just two of us... team members." Skye remembered that she had to add the last words in otherwise the meaning sounded more like her thoughts which were starting to stray again. Maybe it was the hot chocolate and his presence combined together.

Once more, Coulson's next words to Skye made her think that he was really good at correctly guessing a tiny fraction of her thoughts and hoped it was just pure luck. Although the chances of him knowing what else went on in her head were pretty slim so she wasn't worried.

"You haven't even touched your hot chocolate since we started talking! Its probably gone cold by now." The tone of his voice might have revealed a slight tinge of disappointment but it was gone before Skye noticed it.

"Oh... no, its fine. I don't mind it a little warm." Still puzzled at how he had been able to pinpoint that part of her thoughts before he spoke was about the hot chocolate, Skye was distracted as she lifted the mug to her lips and drained it whole in a few quick gulps, well aware that Coulson was watching her.

"Was it any good?" He asked when she was done. "I've never really been able to make a decent cup of hot chocolate for myself before. I usually just wait for FitzSimmons or... you." Coulson wondered, not for the last time, why he was starting to pay more attention towards Skye, almost as if he had just begun to _see_ her.

"It was delicious! And I mean it... my opinion on hot chocolate is never wrong. You and Fitz have the same idea of letting the froth stay at the top, I think that makes it even more enjoyable." Skye didn't realize when she had started rambling but as soon as she finished talking there was no warning for what came next.

Coulson had heard her gush over his hot chocolate making skills but at the same time was distracted by something and in that moment, without thinking about anything, once Skye fell silent... he instinctively closed the distance between the two of them as he reached across to wipe away the tiny splotch of froth which she hadn't noticed yet.

The moment she felt his touch as a finger ran over her upper lip, Skye couldn't stop the shiver that went down her spine as she locked gazes with him in that second. Neither of them said a word, but both were aware of Coulson's finger lingering on her lip longer than was needed. Skye could feel her heart thumping against her chest and wondered if he could hear it too. There was complete and utter silence around them and somehow, this felt like it was normal; unexpected yes, but not entirely awkward either. And just like that, the connection was broken when he pulled back as he cleared his throat and looked away.

"You had a little... froth over there..." He explained hastily while bringing his hands back to himself.

"Oh... thanks." Skye mumbled as she grabbed a napkin and dabbed her mouth once more just to be sure that there was nothing else on her lips.

A tiny beeping noise from somewhere next to them gave Coulson a chance to get his mind focused on something which he knew was easy to figure out; what he just did for Skye on the other hand, was only confusing his thoughts more and more but it needed to wait until morning at the very least. Noticing that the noise was coming from her cell phone alarm, Skye turned it off and knew the moment had long passed now; it was time for her to clear up her work and head for her bunk.

"It seems that we've both stayed awake past our bed time." Coulson spoke up first, finally bringing himself to look at the woman in front of him and noticed that there was a little redness in her cheeks. "We'll be landing in L.A by late morning so we should probably get our rest. Its going to be a busy week ahead."

"Yeah, I'll just wrap all this up in a few minutes. Make sure I have everything we need." She glanced his way quickly before turning her attention to the laptop once again.

"Would you like some help?" It was the least he could do, something that he hoped would not make Skye feel like things were suddenly awkward between them. Different yes, but there was nothing wrong with that.

"Sure..." For reasons Skye decided to keep to herself, she found that she could not refuse his offer and knew that if he thought things might get uncomfortable, maybe something as simple as packing up might bring about a sense of their usual routine again.

It took her only a couple of minutes to file away all the necessary documents and papers that they would be needing along with the laptop safely stored inside the bag. The one thing that Skye couldn't help smile about was when she noticed there was no need for Coulson to ask her what he had to do, they were always in tune with each other's work space that it didn't even feel like an invasion when he was handling all her important things. After that, the only thing left to be done was... saying goodnight to each other. They walked back together as far as Skye's bunk where Coulson handed her the pile he carried in his arms over to her so that she could set them beside her bed.

"Thanks again for the help." Skye felt the air between them starting to feel normal again and she was glad about it. "I'll see you tomorrow morning." She had stuck both hands into her back pockets just in case a sudden urge to hug him came over her and that was something for another time.

"Goodnight Skye." Coulson smiled at her, knowing there would be a chance for him to talk to her if he needed to at any point.

Once he had left for his office, Skye slipped inside and closed the door behind her almost running towards the bed where she lay on her stomach with a pillow under her chin as she thought back to the moment. Three days later she had finally gotten a sign from Coulson and even though it was just a simple touch, Skye couldn't stop herself from grinning as she touched her lips with her finger, feeling the warmth within her again.

"Goodnight A.C." She whispered softly as she reached over to turn the lamp on her bedside table off and settled in to sleep, not knowing what the next morning was going to bring for her and for Coulson. After all, he best surprises are always the ones which remain unspoiled, unknown and unexpected.

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**R&R? I'll definitely get the next 3 chapters uploaded one after the other from Fri-Sun! ^_^**


	3. The first dance

**Aaaand here we are with the next round of chapters this weekend! A quick biggg 'Thank You!' to all my readers who have favorited & followed, silent and outspoken alike! Thanks LunaA, firerosedreamer67, Wolfca, Ace, Alais Kinsleigh, mynameisagent, Orange Orange Employee and the guest reviewers! Without further ado, here is... the first of _four_ directly connected chapters - Skye and Coulson's First Dance! ^_^**

**Disclaimer: Can I please have Coulson? Or Clark? *sigh***

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"Are you sure about this?" Skye gulped as she stood a little awkwardly and unsure of what she had signed up for that morning; "I mean... I don't... I've never done this before and I wouldn't want to hurt you A.C." It was the nerves, nothing else, it had to be just nerves. Right?

She couldn't help but sigh inwardly as she thought back to the conversation that Jemma had brought up a few hours ago when the Bus had landed in Los Angeles, parked in a secure airfield which would provide them plenty of privacy to carry out their plans. Of course going undercover meant that they would have to blend in with all the other guests but Skye and the others had not expected _this_ to be a necessity. And it wasn't as if Skye did not approve of this opportunity, in fact if she was being completely honest with herself then she had been the first one to speak up in favor of this idea - after all, it was compulsory for all pairs to be prepared to _dance _if it came down to that.

"Don't worry about me Skye, I'll be fine." Coulson replied as he straightened up from his search for something behind the desk and walked over to her. "This should help us get started." A large envelope-package that he held in his hands was opened to reveal something Skye never thought she would actually get to see up close.

The seconds were starting to slip away now as she realized that after spending all morning in her bunk pacing up and down, which was as hard to do as it sounded, it was almost time. Skye was going to learn how to dance... from her partner... Coulson.

"Is that what I think it is?" She asked as her eyes widened, trying not to focus on her heartbeats which were speeding up. Instead, she watched him click the doors open to the cabinet beside them; there was an actual gramophone inside and Coulson had a vinyl record which he placed on the turntable but didn't move the needle to play the music just then.

"Yes, I happened to collect a couple of these albums when I was younger and I've been saving it for a rainy day chance to bring this out." The genuine happiness on his face was visible to Skye when she saw him smiling. "Its been a long time since I listened to music on this; I figured if we were going to do this the old-fashioned way then it would be wrong not to use the real music player instead of an ipod or mp3 player." Coulson said as he gestured for Skye to follow him towards the middle of his office.

"The old fashioned way is definitely better than anything else." Skye commented as she waited for his instructions; when May had mentioned Coulson knew the classical waltz and ballroom dancing styles, it was decided that he should teach her while everyone else went to gather their supplies for the mission.

He didn't say anything to her just then but gave one of his big smiles, knowing that Skye really meant it. Coulson wasn't sure how, but he knew that she truly appreciated classical music from the 70's and 80's. The rest of his team already knew how to dance and since Skye was going to be his partner on the night of the mission, it was only right to step up and offer to teach her the basics of waltzing. And now that he watched the young woman standing not more than a few feet away from him, ready to learn, Coulson felt... oddly nervous about this.

"A.C?" Skye's voice broke through his reverie and he shook away all the confusion and nerves, concentrating his thoughts only on her.

"Its nothing... I was just thinking that we should start with the basics of how our positions will be and teach you a few steps without the music." He explained to her as he held out his hand.

"Okay." If any signs of hesitation on her behalf remained, Skye knew that they would disappear once the initial nervousness of dancing passed by; there was nothing else worrying her because she couldn't have asked for a better partner, it was only the dance aspect that she was unsure of. "What do I need to do?" Giving her hand over to him, she couldn't help blink her eyes for an instant of a second as she felt his fingers sliding through hers. This touch was all that Skye needed as she knew the nervousness vanished almost instantly.

"First things first, hands." Coulson brought her left hand up to rest on his shoulder while gently placing his right hand on her waist. "Our elbows are always supposed to be raised up." He explained before continuing, "Now when the music begins... this side of the elbows are also up." Taking her free hand in his, he inadvertently ended up pulling Skye close to him and for a moment they both stood inches apart from each other, gazes locked without either of them daring to breathe.

Skye knew her heart was thumping loudly against her chest but she hoped that Coulson didn't hear it, no matter that he was near enough for her to feel his warm breath on her skin. Her eyes were still on him and she wondered what thoughts were going through his mind in that moment; it seemed as if her own mind had stopped all forms of coherent thinking because all she knew was there was no better experience than having her first dancing lesson with him.

"And then?" Skye whispered softly, breaking the silence between them without realizing that she had spoken out loud. What she did know was the way her voice sounded and it reminded her of that night when she dreamed about him; there was no fear, only...

_Sensual._ Hearing those two words form a question on her lips sounded every bit sultry and sensual in that moment as Coulson felt his fingers grazing her waist; his mind had been thinking about something. Dancing. With Skye? For... the mission... yes. That was it, Jemma had suggested the idea to him in front of Skye and the others. He was supposed to be teaching her how to waltz; closing his eyes to bring him back to his senses, Coulson cleared his throat and stepped back slightly, just enough for them to have a little space in between.

"And then comes the feet." He answered at last, "This might be a little tricky... so we'll go slowly and take it step by step okay?" Coulson wondered for an instant if he was doing the right thing by continuing their dance lesson, because all his mind seemed to be thinking was that the moment with Skye should have stayed the way it was.

Skye nodded her head, well aware of the fact that even though they hadn't yet begun to dance, this was a first for Coulson too. The first time he was dancing with someone who really needed to control herself and make sure she didn't up being one of those klutzy girls who kept stepping on her partner's feet; but as soon as that thought crossed her mind, Skye remembered something and she glanced down, knowing Coulson's gaze followed hers as well and noticed that she was barefooted for this practice lesson.

"I thought it would be less painful if I didn't have my shoes on." She explained quickly, wondering if it was weird for her to be standing there in front of him like this.

"Its a very good idea actually, and I think you shouldn't be the only one to do that." Coulson grinned slightly as he let go of Skye's waist and hand for a moment as he, to the hacker's surprise, also removed his shoes _and_ socks. Now that they both had dealt with the possibility of having their feet stepped on accidentally, he resumed his position. "There we are, now... the feet. All you have to remember is that every step I take forward you need to step back and whenever you step in front I'll do the same."

"I think I got it." Skye wondered if she was imagining that her palms were starting to get a little sweaty, the office was pretty cool so she figured it was just her nerves.

"Well let's try it without the music and I'll show you what we need to do." Saying so, he immediately began to guide Skye as he slowly took a step toward her and couldn't help but grin when he saw her instinctively take a step behind, almost as if she knew what she was doing.

For the next few minutes he guided her across the empty clearing of his office, stopping only once or twice to explain a different step or re-adjust his hand positions. It was no surprise to him that Skye was a fast learner and definitely a natural at this even though she claimed to have never danced before today.

"This isn't so bad!" She exclaimed as they moved in sync for the most part around the room, amazed at her own dancing skills which weren't too bad for a beginner like herself. "How is this so easy for you?" Skye couldn't help but ask when he paused for a moment before raising one hand and twirling her once making her laugh at her almost fumbled attempt.

"There's only one secret to dancing really." He smiled as his hands found her waist again and he continued to step back and forward once a time, counting the beats in his head.

"And what secret would that be?" Skye was curious to know; she glanced up at him and almost forgot to breathe when she saw him bend down to her ear and whispered something softly. The words barely just registered in her mind as they suddenly stopped dancing.

The moment she felt his breath tickling her ear, Skye couldn't help but close her eyes as she relished in that moment; she had managed to be relatively composed all along while learning the steps to their dance. Although now she wondered if that was mainly because there was no music yet and her concentration had been directed more towards her feet than his lips. _Lips._ They were so close to her ear that she was sure Coulson might have even touched the tips without realizing it and her heart thumps in her chest were definitely too loud for him not to hear.

"Skye..." Her name fell from his lips in a way she couldn't describe clearly; all she knew just then was she could hear him say her name over and over again without ever wanting him to stop. She had diverted her eyes away from his gaze and she was vaguely aware of the sudden distance between them as Coulson moved further back. "I... I think its time we started the music, don't you?"

Whatever words he really wanted to say to her were left unsaid as Coulson turned to face his turntable gramophone. All these feelings and thoughts that he knew Skye felt as strongly as he was experiencing them now, he couldn't help but wonder if it was just them getting caught up in the heat of this moment with their dance practice. The close proximity with each other, the soft touches as they held hands and the silence of having the Bus being empty just then... it could possibly just be... nothing. And yet, as soon as he lifted the needle onto the vinyl record letting the music fill up in these surroundings, Coulson knew whatever _this_ was... with Skye... it was anything but nothing. Still standing with his back to her for those few minutes, he debated whether or not he should... no; now was not the right time. He wasn't certain of his own feelings just then and neither did he know if she felt the same way and even if she did, would it be right for them to start something?

"A.C." Skye had noticed that Coulson was unusually silent as the first song began to play softly in the background. This was not the one they were planning to practice with, but when she observed his stance just then, it didn't take her more than a few seconds to understand that there was something on his mind. "Is everything okay?" Without hesitation, she crossed the office space to where he stood and placed a hand on his shoulder, knowing he would turn around to face her but likely not open up about anything... yet.

"Yes. Yes... everything is fine Skye." Coulson knew that he would have to talk to Skye sooner or later. After all, the mission was coming up in a week's time and once they all were in the field together, everyone's focus had to be on getting the job accomplished first. Even though he knew the two of them would be partnered up, maybe the right time would be after all this was said and done. "I was just thinking about the mission." He couldn't ever keep anything from the young woman, even though by now, the question of ever doing so to Skye of all people was impossible, Coulson knew that while he trusted her with everything, this was something serious that needed to be talked out when there were less impending dangers lurking around.

"We have time. And I'm sure that with your impeccable dance skills, I'll be fairly decent and waltzing if we'll need to on that night; make sure that all our cover's stay intact." Skye knew he wasn't specifically thinking about her dancing abilities but until he was ready to tell her what was really on his mind., she figured a little distraction from all this seriousness would help him feel better.

When he heard her words and saw the sincerity behind them, Coulson looked over to Skye and saw a smile playing on her face. The hacker was dedicated to their cause and wouldn't leave anything to chance, even if it seemed to be something trifling as learning how to dance for a mission.

"I have complete faith in you Skye." He meant what he said, even if he wasn't only talking about her dancing. If there was one thing Coulson knew without a shred of doubt, it was that he believed in Skye, no matter what. "And you're a pretty good dancer already, but we'll still continue the lessons until the night before our mission."

"Sounds like a plan to me!" There wasn't really any worry in her mind that just because her first morning of practice had gone good, the two of them wouldn't stop the dance lessons. Not when Skye was certain Jemma would have a lot to say about that. "So... we're ready for this right?" By now the song that they were meant to listen to had started to play and she stood up straight to fall into position.

"Yes. We are ready." With a smile of his own, Coulson took up his place in front of Skye and took her hand in his as she lightly rested her hand on his shoulder and he wrapped his arm around her waist once again.

Now that the music had begun, Coulson and Skye easily managed to fall into a good enough rhythm as they danced slowly until their sync flowed perfectly in time with the song. This time though, neither of them were bothered about stepping on each other's feet for they were too busy caught up in their gazes which were focused on each other; it was an unspoken agreement between them that when Skye _did_ almost stumble after the twirl again, Coulson caught her in his arms and she found herself blushing, but they went on dancing without needing to say a word. All their fears and worries and doubts were pushed aside temporarily because the only important thing was just Coulson and Skye. Dancing together.

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**Chapter 4 will be up tomorrow, not 100% sure about 5 & 6 cause I am a tad bit ill right now, but I'm still going to write cause I can and I want to! Loads of surprises coming up! R&R? **


	4. A Gift

**Presenting to you all... chapter 4! Once again, thanks to all my lovely readers for their amazing reviews - Wolfca, LunaA, Arisachan93 and mynameisagent - I'm feeling much better today but sadly got caught up with some other work that had been left untouched for a few days now so chapter 5 still needs to be written out; I am going to start writing it tonight though so it should be up tomorrow! This was actually an idea that I hadn't really thought of turning into a whole chapter, rather just a tiny scene... but I do hope you all enjoy it! The prompt topic is 'First Gift' **

**Disclaimer: One of these days I just might forget about this!**

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"Oh my goodness! Skye!" Jemma almost shrieked as she entered the bunk, "You look absolutely gorgeous!" It was finally the night of their mission and Skye had just finished getting changed into her outfit.

"Thanks Jemma, I guess your choice was definitely better than anything I could have found." The afternoon when Skye had spent with Coulson learning how to dance, Jemma and the others had returned from shopping and along with a suit for him, she had managed to find something for Skye as well. "And you look really pretty too." Skye commented as she saw Jemma's reflection in the mirror.

"I... well I wasn't sure if emerald was my color but... Fitz insisted that it would look good and since Ward agreed too... I just... I figured both the boys couldn't be wrong." Jemma tried her best not to turn red but in the light coming from outside the room, Skye noticed the blush and grinned to herself.

"Oh yeah, Fitz sure knows how to pick his colors." She herself was wearing a different shade but couldn't help let the thought cross her mind if she really could pull this off; long evening gowns were not the first thing she would have chosen to wear, except for a mission like this.

"Skye... you have to stop fidgeting so much, the dress is perfect and everyone will love it!" Jemma had just managed to save herself from saying 'Agent Coulson' specifically to her friend; whatever was going on between them, she might have picked up on _something_ but chose to wait it out and see where things went. "And you almost made me forget why I came to see you." She added as she walked over to where Skye stood.

"What is it?" Turning around and looking confused, Skye noticed that Jemma held a velvet box in her hands; in all her anxiousness if the dress wasn't going to tear or make her fall with the heels she wore underneath, she hadn't noticed anything else.

"This... is a small gift for you." Jemma said as she handed the box over to Skye, "Its from Agent Coulson." She added and waited for a reaction.

Taking the box in her hands, Skye couldn't help but glance up at Jemma with her eyes wide open as she registered the fact that Coulson had sent a gift. For her. Without waiting for an explanation, she opened it and let out a soft gasp when she saw what was inside.

"I... it... it's so beautiful." Skye didn't know what else she could say. Her fingers touched the object within and she felt her heart swell as she took in the gorgeousness of this gift.

"He said it was antique and wanted me to use it in order to add a tiny piece of a recording device so that we could get something inconspicuous through the security systems." Jemma pointed out one of the places which had hers and Fitz's specially modified device installed; hidden in plain sight to everyone who tried to look for it.

"I don't... I can't take something like this though. If its an antique then... Coulson..." Skye started to say but her voice trailed off when she sensed another presence in the room.

And there he was, standing at the entrance of her bunk wearing the suit that Jemma had bought for him - dressed in full black, except for a personal touch of his own. Skye immediately knew it was something Coulson had added himself; a pale gold silk scarf which was covered in patterns of all kinds. It made him even more handsome which apparently was possible. She had been staring, she knew that much but as soon as her eyes trailed up from the scarf to meet his, Skye blushed deeply when she saw him gazing at her with a look of wonder on his face. Jemma had noticed this silent exchange of looks between them and decided it was time to make her leave. Clearing her throat was her way of breaking the silence which was spread throughout the room, she squeezed Skye's hand softly before speaking up.

"Agent Coulson! I wasn't expecting to see you here, aren't the other boys waiting in the lab for us?" She beamed brightly as she sauntered over to the exit not waiting for a reply because Jemma knew it was best if she left as soon as she could, "You look very handsome sir." Jemma was delighted to see the scarf he wore matched the suit perfectly. "I should probably go and check on Agent May, see if she needs anything." Knowing that neither Skye or Coulson were likely to have heard her, Jemma quickly left them as she congratulated herself mentally; the dance lesson idea had been the best!

Now that they were alone in Skye's room, Coulson stepped inside and observed the open box in her hands, which was still not empty.

"Didn't you like the gift?" He asked her, each step he took brought her nearer to him. "I heard what you were saying and it's because I trust you to take good care of this that I suggested FitzSimmons use it." They were barely inches apart at this point and Skye had to look up at him.

"A.C... I don't think I could really... this obviously is precious to you and I know how you like your antiques..." Once more she was cut off mid-sentence when he interrupted her.

"This isn't just another of my _precious_ antique items Skye... if you want to know the truth then in all honesty, this is actually a family heirloom that my mother gave me when I was only a young man." He paused for a second when he realized Skye might have lost her grip on the box and so he reached out to hold her hands and keep it steady, "I'm entrusting you with this because we need something smaller than any other normal jewelry like a necklace or earrings... and besides, it does match your dress." Coulson added when he saw that Skye was still in partial shock.

The weight of his words had reached Skye's ears when she heard that this item belonged to Coulson's mother and yet she could not believe that he was letting her borrow it for their mission; the importance and meaning behind his trust in her was something she understood and yet somehow she knew that the more she tried to protest against using something so special and close to his heart, he wouldn't let her win this debate. Knowing that she was resigned to accept this gift, Skye reached out to remove it from the velvet cushion when she felt his fingers brush against hers; their eyes met once again and he nodded, knowing there was no need to say anything else. She turned back to face her mirror just then and closed her eyes as Coulson took his mother's antique heirloom in his hands; it was a tiny comb, no bigger than his palm, silver in color with a half dozen sapphire stones inlaid across the rose pattern embellished there. Since her hair had already been styled in a simple low bun, it was easy for him to slide the comb in atop her elastic band that held it in place.

"Thanks, A.C." Skye whispered as she gave him a small smile and raised a hand to the bun, hovering around the comb but not touching it just yet.

"You look... stunning." Coulson had stepped back only slightly, enough for Skye to have space in case she wanted to check how her hair looked.

As he stared at the woman in front of him, he took sight of how beautiful she was; her evening gown was deep midnight blue in color with a pleated bodice that twisted and flowed into an elegant skirt and a slight train at the end. There was a silk ribbon attached to the waist and to top it off, the gown also had delicate beaded cap sleeves that hung just below her shoulders. Skye had also opted to wear light jewelry at Jemma's insistence - a pair of sapphire drop earrings along with a silver bracelet on her right wrist.

If it wasn't obvious to him, Skye surely knew that his compliment had made her cheeks turn red; she wondered if she should say something but before she could, Coulson had already held out his arm for her.

"Shall we?" He offered, "It's almost time we left for the mansion. And the others are probably waiting for us." Coulson may have felt the pressure of how crucial their mission was when he had first started to get ready, but now that he was here with Skye, all other thoughts left his mind.

"Yes." Skye replied as she slipped her arm in his and walked out of her room side by side, heading for the lab where, sure enough FitzSimmons, Ward and May were already gathered.

During the next several minutes, everyone exchanged compliments with each other as they waited for their designated cars to arrive. Skye had already seen Jemma's dark emerald gown, strapless with a flowing skirt and tiny sequins from top to bottom that made it seem as if they were rhinestones, May on the other hand had chosen a stunning crushed golden evening dress that was one shouldered with a slit in the skirt up to one calf. Fitz had decided to go for a tuxedo complete with a white shirt and black bow tie and Ward was dressed in a three piece black suit with a red shirt under his vest. It was only when Skye felt Coulson's arm touch her elbow while in the middle of a discussion with Fitz that she knew the cars were here; remembering her conversation with Coulson a few days ago about whether or not they would be taking Lola and the only response she had gotten was a cryptic, _"I decided on something else, more fitting for us." _What should have been an obvious thing to her actually surprised Skye when she glanced back to the ramp and saw not one, but _two_ long and sleek black limousines standing just opposite the Bus with uniformed chauffeurs waiting patiently for their guests.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. agents of course." May told Skye as they all walked outside towards their respective cars, "They're our undercover backup." She explained to the hacker who still couldn't believe at how grand everything was turning out to be tonight.

For the other team members this might have been a normal thing if not rare in terms of how big they had gone but to Skye, all this seemed to be _magical. _The gown, all her jewels including the heirloom comb, two limousines and a dashing partner to escort her to a mansion where they were about to hack into the city's most highly guarded security system in order to salvage top secret government documents which were being used to bribe several important diplomatic members as well as... if the rumors were true... a few of their own.

"This is quite exciting isn't it?" Jemma was definitely excited to be going into the field on an undercover mission, "Oh! Thank you." She had not expected the chauffeur of their limo to open the door for her and was pleasantly surprised when he smiled politely as she sat inside.

May and Skye joined Jemma in the first car while the boys would be following them in the other limo. Just before getting in last, she rested her hand against the door and glanced over her shoulder just in time to see Coulson look up and meet her gaze. The two of them stood there for what must have been nothing more than a heartbeat of a second and yet to her, even if the whole night went by she wouldn't have noticed. It was only when he smiled and gave her a reassuring nod as if to say that things would be fine did Skye enter in and let the door close behind.

"Everything alright Skye?" May asked once they set off, she was seated opposite Skye which made it easier for her to observe the slightly distant look on the young woman's face.

"Skye?" Jemma poked her friend's shoulder when she noticed that she hadn't replied to May's question. "Did something happen?" The scientist did have a pretty good idea of what was on Skye's mind and figured maybe it was time to learn something new.

"Ow! Jemma...what was that for?" Skye's chain of thoughts were interrupted when she felt Jemma's finger poking on her skin. Rubbing the spot which was already sore, she glanced at her teammates and noticed that both women were grinning from ear to ear.

"We were just wondering where you had drifted off to... lost in thoughts about something? Or was it... _someone_?" Jemma teased as she debated whether or not to mention any names in front of May.

"What? No! No... I wasn't thinking about anyone Jemma!" Her reply was way too quick for it to sound believable and yet Skye didn't know if she should say anything else, not when she herself still remained unsure of what exactly she felt for Coulson. And surely neither May nor Jemma knew... did they?

"Hmm... could've fooled me." Leaning against the window, Jemma turned to face May and see if the other agent had something to say.

"That's a beautiful hair comb you have Skye... it looks lovely." Changing topics completely and yet staying on track with Jemma's teasing, May took the opportunity to indirectly talk about Coulson.

"Thanks..." Skye mumbled a response as she went on, "Its a secret recording device Fitz came up with, totally untraceable. At least I think so." She was confused; how was it that both May and Jemma seemed to want to discuss her love life... no... her lack of one.

"It won't be picked up on any scanners, I assure you. Fitz knows what he's doing. As for the comb itself, that was a gift from Agent Coulson wasn't it Skye?" Jemma made sure she stressed her friend's name, all the while trying not to giggle.

"Yes. It was." Skye managed to say and wanted to try and steer the conversation towards Fitz or Ward or Fitz _and_ Ward if she could, but just then a soft rap on the partition behind her and Jemma was heard.

"We're here." May said as she slipped into the Cavalry mode just then. The drive hadn't taken them very long from the Bus since the mansion they were headed to happened to be located on the outskirts of the city which was where they had landed that morning.

Skye instinctively raised her hand to finally touch the comb that was set in her hair, knowing it would help her feel calm. As soon as she stepped out of the limo, her eyes were met with a huge sprawling mansion that could only have been Victorian in style and built out of pure marble which stretched across the vast acres of land all around them into two wings. It was decorated with minimal lights that glittered under the moon and soft music could already be heard from inside; she took a deep breath as she observed the surroundings. This was their destination, they were all about to infiltrate the home of none other than... Daniel Quinn.

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**Dun... dun... dun... cliffhanger! Ha... been a while since I ended a chapter on a surprising note but before anyone gets confused this isn't _Ian_ Quinn from the show but a new character I've introduced just for 5 & 6... I'll elaborate more in the next chapter, which if it isn't added tomorrow will definitely come day after! So... Thoughts? ^_^**

**A/N: If anyone is interested to see what the gowns look like for each of the girls I've added links to my profile to the dresses which inspired me, only the colors have changed! &&& Coulson's suit is basically the same thing that Clark wears in 'Much Ado About Nothing' which is linked too! xD**


	5. Going Undercover Together

**Hey everyone! Sorry about the delay in getting this chapter uploaded, I was a bit shaken up after the latest GoT episode... more like horrified and terrified even though I knew what was coming... lol... and since this was an important chapter that turned out to be really long, I needed to get things right! Thanks to all my readers for their lovely reviews - wolfca, LunaA, firerosedreamer67, mynameisagent, Ace, PreciousHeartBeats and my guest reviewer too! Quick mention about the cliffhanger from chap 4, Daniel Quinn is a new character I've invented solely for the purpose of this chapter and the next, also in case anyone is wondering I imagined Tahmoh Penikett from Dollhouse, SPN, Castle to play this role! How awesome would it be if we got another Whedon actor on AoS next season? Until then... here's Skye and Coulson's first undercover mission together! ^_^**

**Disclaimer: I own only the character of Daniel Quinn and nothing else.**

**A/N: Just wanted to mention that even though the story isn't necessarily following the show's timeline of events I have mentioned Skye's shooting from 1x13, but then again there's also a teaser about the Avengers so its a bit of a shaky pattern here.**

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Standing at the entrance of the mansion that belonged to another of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s enemies and younger brother of Ian Quinn, Skye couldn't help but wonder if this undercover mission of theirs would be successful or not; she was well aware of the truth that all their jobs were risk-filled and dangerous but this just felt... downright scary, if Skye was being honest with herself. At least she knew the entire team was going to be there and being partnered with Coulson did make her fears lessen considerably. As if sensing her nervousness returning, the minute Coulson stepped out of the second limousine which pulled up behind moments ago, he immediately went to stand beside where she stood.

"Hey..." That soft familiar touch of his hand on her shoulder caused Skye to look away from the grandeur of everything and face him, "It's going to be okay Skye, all we have to do is slip in and out within the hour. The mission is safe, no one will get hurt and we'll be out of here in no time." Coulson knew that she was not used to undercover tasks like these, especially when most of the job rested on her shoulders but he believed in her and had assigned himself to be her partner so that he could have her back.

"Yeah, I know. I... I was just thinking about Quinn... the other one. My first meeting with Ian Quinn didn't go quite as pleasantly as we'd thought. Neither did the second time." She couldn't stop the involuntary shiver that went down her spine when she remembered the incident in Italy, trying to block everything out in vain. "And here I am again, about to meet Quinn Jr." Leaving the rest unsaid Skye knew she was worrying over this more than she needed to. "I'm just glad I'm not alone this time." She glanced up at Coulson when she said those last words to him.

"So am I... because if the rumors are believed to be true, then Daniel Quinn is actually more ruthless than his older brother and quite hard to control." His face didn't reveal anything to the young woman but Skye saw the emotion in his eyes, Coulson would protect her from him at all costs.

He knew that she was still shaken up over Ian Quinn shooting her and so was he; even though she made it clear he didn't have to blame himself for not being there to stop it, Skye had told him that he had saved her life which was more than she could have ever asked for. This mission wasn't easy for her and yet she knew how crucial and sensitive it was, even though it meant possibly having to face Daniel Quinn, she had agreed to taking on the majority of work since it all relied on hacking into the computer systems inside.

"We're all set." May stated as she and the others joined them, "Everyone has their identification cards and passports, each couple will go inside after a 30 second interval and meet up at the extraction point when the mission is complete."

"Do you remember your missions?" Coulson asked his team, each pair had been assigned specific sub-tasks to be carried out separately across the entirety of the mansion. The plan was to tackle the three wings and gather all possible data they could find.

Once they had quickly gone over the last checks, everyone split up since it had already been a few minutes since arriving there and more guests were starting to gather around. May and Ward went in through the gates first and made it inside without any trouble, Fitz and Simmons followed them after the thirty second wait which left Skye and Coulson.

"Are you ready?" Turning to face his partner, he saw that she was a lot calmer now. Seeing her nod, he offered his arm to her and together they walked towards the gates where they were met with the first wave of security.

"A.C. The invitations are in your jacket pocket." Skye whispered to him as they reached the bodyguard at the entrance. She knew there was only a few minutes left, it was time she got her act together with the backstory, personality and self-confidence she needed in order to pull off her character. From now, once they were inside it was all about making sure she remembered she wasn't Skye and Coulson wasn't A.C. to her.

"Right. Yes, thank you dear." Coulson smiled as he handed over the envelopes to the guard while still holding Skye's arm in his.

"You're all set sir, ma'am. Please proceed." The bodyguard, one of many stiff suits nodded as he let them pass through, the invitations were legitimate as far as he was concerned because their names did show up on the guest list.

It had been one of Skye's ingenious plans to remotely access the guest list the day they had landed here and make sure the computerized systems would see the fake identities and register them because technically, they were impersonating real people who were supposed to have canceled on the party several weeks earlier due to whatever commitments. Since no one's faces had actually been saved in the database it was easier to fake their entrance with whatever minimal resources they had.

Skye knew it was best never to turn around or glance in any direction like her training had taught her, this was a safe place no matter how many enemies S.H.I.E.L.D. possibly had, the only one they were concerned with didn't know who they were and she needed to act like she belonged in the company of these elite businessmen and their wives or in her case a girlfriend. Coulson hadn't said anything when she commented that her cover would not be as his wife unlike May and Ward who were taking the place of Quinn's long-time acquaintances who had been married for 5 years; Fitz and Simmons themselves thought it best to take up the option of being newly-weds, both of them well-renowned scientists in their respective fields and looking for a possible lucrative business proposition from the head of Quinn's business empire. This had left Skye with the option of being Coulson's much younger girlfriend, who seemed to everyone as being more interested in his money than the rich widower himself.

"Relax, we're almost in. Only one more check to get past." Coulson decided then that this formal appearance of walking inside with Skye wasn't going to work and so, just before coming up to the main doors where another security guard was posted, he let go of her arm and slid his hand down to intertwine his fingers in hers. "This is better." He smiled when he looked down to see Skye visibly brighten a little and settle into her role.

She didn't reply to him just then because they were ordered to present their passports along with business identification by the guard but Skye couldn't help but think to herself that this was a more _personal_ touch to their undercover relationship and Coulson's gesture had finally gotten her to believe that they both could do this if they were working together. She trusted him and knew that he trusted her, so there was no reason to worry about anything. As soon as the ping was registered in the machine that their I.D's were cleared, she let out a breath she'd been holding in and all her worries disappeared as once she stepped over the threshold and into the mansion at last.

"Thank you." Coulson said to the guard as he took back the passports and with Skye's hand in his, they were finally part of the crowd.

The interior of Daniel Quinn's house was even more glamorous than it was from the outside; there were huge crystal chandeliers in each room, the floor was covered in only the finest Turkish carpets of bright red and gold, all the walls were draped with rich silks and they were standing in the main central wing where the man of the hour himself was to be found. Skye couldn't help but admire the beauty all around her as she stared in awe at the decorations and realized that in spite of all the chandeliers, the mansion was lit up with every possible sort of antique lanterns, lamps and candelabra's that were scattered throughout. For a split second, her eye caught sight of Ward and May who had already started mingling with the other guests and seemed deep in conversation with some French... delegates, if their uniforms meant what she thought they did.

"We need to move. Everyone's starting to stare." Skye spoke softly as she tugged Coulson away from the doors and began walking towards the first place she spotted, an open bar. It was safe and ideal to meet other people and not stick out like two sore thumbs.

"Yes, okay. Lead the way." Coulson was resigned to follow Skye's lead if she knew what she was doing and figured where they were headed.

They had both barely walked ten feet when Skye made her first blunder of the night; she had been determined to get away from the limelight and had turned around to face Coulson when she had started walking, not noticing the tall figure of a man approaching them.

"Oh! I'm terribly sorry. Are you hurt miss...?" The strong and concern filled voice reached Skye's ears when she bumped into someone.

"No. No, I... I'm okay. I should be saying sorry, it was my fault..." Skye started to apologize when she felt Coulson's hand squeeze hers and she quickly exchanged a glance with him and when she noticed the look on his face, met the gaze of this stranger she was talking to and almost fell back.

"That's quite alright. We both were in the wrong. I don't believe I've had the pleasure..." The man extended his hand out to Skye who didn't take it.

"The pleasure is all ours." Coulson chimed in as he shook hands, "Clark Gregg, and this is Chloe Bennet. My girlfriend. Its an honor to finally meet you Mr. Quinn." Putting on a smile and hoping that their covers weren't already blown.

"Daniel. Please, call me Daniel. And likewise Clark, its so good to finally make your acquaintance. Do you know, its taken me a very long time to get you here, I had to go through a lot of channels to finally contact your office and then would you know it, your secretary told me you were off abroad! I wasn't sure you'd make it back in time for my little event tonight." Daniel Quinn didn't seem to have noticed Skye's sudden silence as he greeted Coulson and began talking to him.

"Well what can I say, Chloe wanted to go on a cruise and it was quite some time since we'd taken a trip together." Coulson still had his hand in Skye's but at this point wondered if it would have been better if he just wrapped his arm around her waist to keep her closer. "I did get your message though, came in through last week and I could hardly refuse a personal invitation from you. So we took the next flight out here and decided to get some sight-seeing done while in town."

"Wonderful! That's simply wonderful." Daniel finally turned his attention to Skye who was trying to look everywhere in the room but at him. "So... Chloe, I hope it's alright if I call you Chloe? How do you like the city of Monaco? Its beautiful isn't it?"

"Oh! Yes. Yes, it is." Skye replied politely as she dared a glance in his direction. Truthfully, it was Coulson's light and gentle squeezes that were helping her get through this even though she knew that the mission was more important than her ridiculous fears about Quinn Jr.

"Well, how about a drink? Would you like to get something Clark?" Daniel asked as he started walking towards the bar, motioning for them to follow him.

"I'll take a glass of scotch. On the rocks." Coulson answered as he led Skye behind him, "And a margarita for Chloe." He added, knowing she wouldn't really drink anything. Her nerves were already jangled up on meeting Quinn and she needed to be focused for her task ahead.

"Perfect." Rubbing his hands together and stopping only for a few seconds to greet his other guests, Daniel seemed to be focusing his attention solely on the two of them for now. He even introduced a few important people to the pair and continued to talk to Coulson for the next several minutes after handing him and Skye their drinks. "To you Clark, for finding someone as _gorgeous_ as Chloe." He raised his glass of scotch and winked at her.

"Cheers to you." Coulson obviously had noticed the not-so-subtle attempts that Daniel Quinn was making towards Skye and knew it was time they got away from him. "Ah! Chloe... is that Elizabeth over there?" He nudged her shoulder and gestured to no one in particular but knew that the name would get Daniel's attention.

"I think it is. She's with Iain isn't she?" Skye realized that instead of them leaving abruptly, Coulson was basically pointing out to Daniel Quinn that there were more important people to talk to.

Surely enough, as soon as he heard Elizabeth's name, Daniel turned around to look in the direction they were indicating and immediately excused himself as he muttered something about needing to meet Ms. Henstridge on a matter of his new science division, leaving behind his empty drink glass. It took a few minutes until Quinn was out of sight from them and only then did Skye groan inwardly as she absent-mindedly rested her head on Coulson's shoulder but snapped back up when she realized what she had done, trying to compose herself and not blush. Under no circumstances was she going to blush.

"That was horrible." She complained, "I am so sorry, I know I should have been better at this and behaved like a proper lady. This is not how things were supposed to go and... I mean..." Skye started to ramble as she talked, still holding the glass in her hand.

"You were good, Chloe. Trust me." Coulson had been briefly startled for a second when he felt Skye's forehead on his shoulder, even though they were supposed to be an undercover couple, he hadn't expected her to... and just when he was about to do something, she had almost jumped back and he felt his fingers slipping away from hers. "I know that was unexpected to just meet Quinn within minutes of walking in, but you didn't mess anything up so don't apologize." He could have said more but wondered if he needed to.

"Let's go dance." Was all Skye said, "Look, all the other guests are headed inside the drawing room where the music is coming from. There's still time." She added, as Coulson checked his watch; they were on a schedule and knew when the time to make their move would be.

"How about we see if Iain and Elizabeth are still busy talking to our charitable host." Coulson figured it would be less stressful for Skye if she knew that Daniel Quinn wasn't going to be following them to the dance floor.

"Good point." Skye nodded and was grateful to see Coulson holding his hand for her, she had noticed when they inadvertently had broken apart only moments ago and missed the warmth of his touch.

It was the only thing that could comfort her and keep all the nerves at bay; the difference between both the Quinn brother's hopefully extended to as far as them being physically out of touch with each other in terms of Daniel Quinn not being so quick to pull out a gun on them if things went south and their covers were blown.

"We'll be fine. He doesn't suspect a thing and he won't realize what we've done once its over." Coulson didn't need to be a mind reader to know that Skye was still thinking about Daniel Quinn's instant attention towards her and was wondering if they would be able to see this mission to the end.

"I guess you're right. I'll be better prepared the next time he decides to come around and talk to us again." Skye knew that all her personal ties to the mission would likely endanger not only herself and Coulson but all her friends as well who were counting on her.

"I know you will." It wasn't just something Coulson said to Skye because he thought she needed to hear that right now, but because if he had his way, he would always remind Skye of how special she was even when she knew it herself.

Together they made their way towards the other wing of Quinn's house where they saw that FitzSimmons were still in deep conversation with him; somehow Jemma had managed to slip into her role in a half-decent way that seemed a better improvement than her last attempt at going undercover but even there, Fitz was making sure that the talks were balanced out. Coulson was more busy observing Skye as she saw her friends seem to be at ease in their roles since they remained scientists after all; he saw the determination in her eyes to let go of all thoughts of what happened with Ian Quinn and stay focused on the mission at hand and surmised the best way to help her feel more relaxed was to get her on the dance floor. Sure enough, several moments later the two of them were inside the drawing room gathered with all the other guests there; the music had finally settled on something more suitable for everyone and soon pretty much every couple in the room found themselves in the center of the big open floor where they slowly began to waltz, one after the other. Skye had taken up her position on one side of the hall with the other women there and curtsied to her partner when the song started to play before finding herself dancing comfortably and in sync with Coulson.

"Are you okay?" He asked softly once they had found their rhythm, dancing with Skye was quite possible the easiest thing he had to do that night.

"Yes, much better now. Thanks." Skye did feel relieved to be here, actually getting the opportunity to really dance with Coulson for the first time in front of all these people; there were no butterflies, no thoughts of sweaty palms and even her feelings for him seemed settled internally tonight.

"You're welcome. I guess those dancing lessons finally paid off." Coulson grinned as he twirled her around once and caught her perfectly without any stumbles.

"Well it did help that I had a wonderful teacher." She smiled back as they continued to dance, completely oblivious to all the other couples around them, the only thing Skye knew was that she was here dancing with Coulson and actually enjoying herself. "And he did let me in on a little secret once." Remembering that moment back in his office when he had whispered something in her ear, Skye visibly brightened more as the music went on.

"Oh really? What secret would that be?" Not surprised that she would remember his comment about waltzing, Coulson still wanted to hear her say it.

"The key to a good waltz... is to pick the perfect partner, someone who knows what he's doing. And the rest, just falls into place." Skye repeated his words to her and even though she felt the blush on her neck, she didn't break eye contact with him.

"Or she." Coulson added in all sincerity, "You are a natural at this and I'm sure you would be perfectly capable of leading this dance." He knew that they both had enough time for only this first dance but wondered if he would ever get another chance like this with her.

"Another mission, another dance maybe." This time it was Skye who seemed to have read Coulson's mind as she let a tiny giggle escape from her lips, "Not necessarily undercover in the middle of nowhere though." She elaborated and thought to herself if it was always going to be a mission requirement for them to dance.

"We don't need to wait for a mission. There's always something happening at the headquarters or at the academy, I'm sure you'll get another chance sooner." Coulson reassured her.

"Is that where you learned how to dance? At the academy?" Hearing him talk about the S.H.I.E.L.D. academy, Skye couldn't help but wonder if that was where he had been trained in all these different dance forms.

"Yes. And before you ask, I wasn't always this good. In fact, I remember being a terrible dancer." Coulson remembered all those memories vividly as if they had happened just yesterday.

"What changed then?" Skye was very interested now, she hadn't heard Coulson talk a lot about his past life at S.H.I.E.L.D. before the New York attack and always imagined him being naturally good at everything he did.

"Maria took it upon herself to start teaching me every single day for hours on end and then sometimes I would practice dancing with Melinda." First names were safer to use in their current surroundings, "It took me a few weeks but eventually I did get there." Coulson finished as he smiled at that thought.

"And ever since then you've never danced a lot have you?" It wasn't meant to come out like a question but Skye had a feeling her hunch was correct.

"No, not as much as I thought I would have to." Coulson admitted, before continuing, "I did however get a once in a lifetime chance to dance with Pepper though."

Hearing him mention Pepper Potts' name, Skye couldn't help but stare at him wide-eyed, almost forgetting that they were at the end of their dance. As soon as the last notes of the music came to an end, she was determined to find out more about what Coulson had just told her; they had only a few minutes left before Daniel Quinn made his entrance, there was a big speech he had to give just then and that was to be their signal to head out and get started on their mission at last. This, however was still important to Skye.

"You've... you've danced with Pepper Potts?" Skye whispered as softly as she could, dragging Coulson to the far end of the room, close to the doors and still surrounded by other people. "As in, Tony Stark's _Pepper Potts_?" She asked again, not sure she believed what she had heard.

"Yes. Of course I have, you look surprised." Coulson was a little puzzled and amused to see Skye reacting this way.

"Wow. That's... amazing... Clark." Skye didn't forget that she wasn't supposed to call him A.C or even Phil by accident over here, "I... just... I didn't know... you don't mention anything about..." She had briefly thought about shutting up before saying something with the word 'Avengers' in it but Coulson caught on to what she meant and gave her a half smile.

"I know. I don't talk a lot about my life before what happened in New York; this is hardly the time or place to start. I'll tell you more about it later if you'd like." Coulson replied honestly, if there was anyone he could ever trust himself to open up to, it was Skye.

"What about... them?" Skye was still curious, she knew that Coulson's death was what brought the Avengers together but it had already been two years since then and she wanted to know if they were still in the dark. "Do they... know about you... or is it a secret?"

"I think that's a question best saved for later as well." He wanted to tell Skye everything, then and there, but since they were on a time-limited schedule and he had just seen Quinn entering the hall, Coulson figured it was time they left.

As if on cue, once the guests started applauding their host who made his way to the podium that had been erected on the opposite end of where Skye and Coulson were, Daniel Quinn was about to make his speech. Exchanging a silent look with each other and knowing that the other two pairs were going to get to work as well, Skye and Coulson quietly slipped through the doors and headed towards the entrance they had come in from. The mansion was eerily deserted as literally all the hundred or so guests were all gathered in one room, including the bodyguards; the only people wandering about the hallways were the waiters and chefs but since Skye and Coulson were in the main central wing of the house, they didn't have to worry. Their destination was the first floor master bedroom where Quinn's main computer systems were located.

"Let's go. The sooner we get to his room, the faster we can finish this off." Coulson whispered as he took Skye's hand in his and stuck to the walls that were shadowy and dark enough to hide their faces; once they reached the grand staircase it was only a minute and a half since their timers had started counting down.

"There!" Skye pointed to an unguarded room once they reached the first floor of the house; it was locked but not impenetrable. "Do you have what we need?" She asked Couslon as he approached the doorway, checking the corridor once again to be sure they were alone.

"I have it. This will work." Coulson raised his hand to the machine installed in the wall next to the door, it was a fingerprint scanner and since Quinn had been kind enough to leave his glass behind when he had gone to speak to FitzSimmons, Coulson had easily been able to swipe off a thumb-print with his latex covered skin, one useful item per team member was all they needed.

Skye nodded as she waited for the machine to register the thumb-print as Daniel Quinn's and once the green light showed up, she opened the door and stepped inside waiting for Coulson to follow her before closing it again. This was it; they were inside Quinn's bedroom where the mainframe of his entire business, personal and private computers was stored inside one single laptop located on his desk in the center of the room. Knowing they had only ten minutes or so, Skye immediately got to work once she took Coulson's pair of gloves from inside his jacket; while she began the hack to access all of the personnel files she could find, Coulson stayed in the room with her but close to the door in order to keep an eye out in case someone came this way.

"How much time do we have?" Skye asked him once the decoding process began, she didn't need to do anything but access all the files related to S.H.I.E.L.D. and the device in her hair comb would do the rest.

"Seven minutes, plus another five if May and Ward finish up their search first and make it back to Quinn in time to keep him distracted." As long as he didn't show up before their time was up then both Skye and Coulson as well as FitzSimmons, who were on the other side of the house hacking in to another system simultaneously, would be safe.

"Its going to be a close call. The data needs 10 minutes to finish transferring and I still haven't found everything." Glancing up to see what Coulson's orders were, she saw him give her a single nod telling her to begin.

Reaching up to touch one of the sapphires which held the recording device, Skye made sure the hair comb was still in place. As long as it was within 50 feet of the computers, she didn't even have to remove it. Knowing that there was nothing more to do but wait, she took the chance to sit down on the office chair and watched the progress on the screen in front of her. Somehow, in spite of all the fumbles and stumbles she had made when coming face to face with Quinn and freezing up, they had still managed to get here without being discovered and had finally found the files on S.H.I.E.L.D. as well as several other important agencies that Skye hadn't even heard of. Coulson was still standing guard when the alarm in his watch went off; their twelve minutes were almost up.

"Skye." He wasn't sure if he had just heard voices on the staircase below them but something was definitely wrong. "Are we done yet?" Coulson knew better than to let his tone worry her, if Quinn was headed their way then they had to leave before he reached this floor.

"Almost. It's stuck on 95% right now. We need only a few more minutes." Skye watched as the number began to slowly increase from 95.1 to 95.2 and so on; she knew it was too slow.

"We may have a problem in less than a few minutes." Coulson finally closed the door as he stepped away and walked over to the desk where Skye now stood.

"What are we going to do? There won't be enough time to escape." Knowing there was no point in freaking out over this, Skye took a deep breath to calm herself down.

Coulson didn't answer her immediately as he chose to look around the bedroom for the first time, trying to gauge if there was something there that they could use. Almost instantly, his eyes fell on the curtains that had been draped across the giant french windows and knew what they needed to do.

"Follow me." It was pointless to try and escape from the main door that they had walked through but if the windows were open then it would lead them to the balcony.

"It's done." Skye said as she quickly turned the laptop off and closed the flap; the transfer had finally finished, but she was too late. Just as she crossed around the desk to run towards the curtains, the door pinged open as the scanner was unlocked and the knob began to turn; Daniel Quinn was about to walk inside in the next second.

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**Uh-oh! Cliffhanger again! Terribly sorry about that... I had thought of another ending but it still would have been a cliffy, just maybe less scary? I can't promise when the next chapter will be up, I might be having a busy 2-3 days starting tonight itself! It'll surely be up before the weekend is over though! Oh, and bonus points to anyone if they catch the hidden reference to another tv show which aired its finale recently! ^_^**


	6. First Time Jealousy

**Here's chapter 6! I know its been delayed again but I think I'll be able to manage a weekly update at the most or maybe twice a week if possible? I'll try to get the next one up by the weekend since its only Monday. Just wanted to say something very quickly first, the title of this chap is 'Jealousy' but I feel like it could either be seen as 'Anger' or even 'Undercover Part II' really. I'm not too good at expressing the right emotions needed but I did try so let me know if it was good or bad! Thank You my reviewers - Wolfca, LunaA, Ace, firerosedreamer67 and my guest reviewer again! Apologies about the cliffhanger but it might have paid off this time around since I end it on a nice note? **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

Standing frozen in the middle of Quinn's bedroom, Skye didn't dare to breathe as a dozen different thoughts ran through her mind; she needed to figure out a way out of this without compromising anything about the mission. However, before she could get even one idea formed, Skye found herself being pulled out of the bright lights and into darkness. Coulson had come back to grab her arm and hide themselves behind the curtains together; he noticed that she was a little out of breath but still holding herself composed. His arms had found her waist and she was holding onto his jacket trying not to make a noise. These few seconds seemed to be a respite for them since the voices they could barely hear from outside the room suggested that Daniel Quinn was still talking to someone else. Whatever happened next, the two of them needed to figure it out fast and get away before they were caught.

"Skye..." Coulson started to whisper as he looked down at the woman in his arms, hoping she had a brilliant idea of slipping out the french doors which were open while not attracting anyone's attention to the swaying of these ridiculously long curtains.

This time, without any hesitation or second thoughts, Skye reached up to hush him when she placed a finger on his lips. The two of them locked gazes in that moment and they almost forgot the imminent danger they'd found themselves in; for a heartbeat it was just Skye and Coulson standing there in the closest of close proximities they could ever be in, both of them half-breathless and thinking of nothing else but wanting time to stand still for as long as they wished. Their daze was broken when they finally heard the room door open and slam shut almost instantly; Quinn was inside. And so were they. Eyes widening as she realized they probably had only a few seconds before being discovered, Skye made the decision for them as she gestured for Coulson to move towards the windows; it wasn't the best plan she could have come up with but it was one they were going with. As soon as Coulson realized that she was backing away from the hiding place behind these curtains he knew what she was about to do and he grabbed her hand again.

"Is someone there?" Daniel had just finished making himself a drink from his private bar and turned around to see the curtains flutter slightly. Frowning, he stood up and decided he should check it out.

Shaking her head and trying to reassure Coulson that she would be okay, she pointed to the windows again. This time, he relented and slowly began to inch himself towards the only escape route they had. Before he left Skye alone though, Coulson reached out a hand to her hair and gently removed the hair comb to tuck it inside his jacket. Just before Skye revealed herself though, the two of them exchanged a hurried glance and when she saw him nod to her the same way he had done when they were at the limousines, she felt that she could pull this off. Hopefully. Without giving away anything or breaking cover. Taking a deep breath and bracing herself to come face to face with Daniel Quinn once more, Skye stepped out from behind the curtains.

"Chloe?" Looking at the young woman who stood in front of him, Daniel paused momentarily wondering what was going on. "What are you doing here? And how did you get in?" His suspicions were raised enough to realize that she had broken through his secure locked bedroom only to hide behind the curtains when he walked in.

"Oh! Mr. Quinn... I... I'm sorry, I didn't realize where I was..." Glancing around the room as if realizing where she really was, Skye hoped this would work and she could sell her idea, no matter how lame it sounded. "I must have taken a wrong turn somewhere. The guards told me that the powder room was the first room on the left from the staircase."

"The powder room is the first room on the _right._" He corrected her, if she was lying to him then she wasn't doing a very good job of it. "You still didn't answer my question; how did you get inside here. This room is locked at all times and can be accessed only by me." Daniel walked towards Skye, closing the distance between them in a few short strides.

"Oh? Really? I... I had no idea. The room, it wasn't... locked when I came in. The door had been left open and I... I thought, I didn't know this was your room." Skye wondered if she was over-selling herself with the hesitant replies and pauses but decided to go with it, hoping that Quinn had been distracted by her presence long enough for Coulson to escape without any detection.

"Unlocked you say?" Now he knew that she was lying, but decided that since he couldn't figure out what a girl like Chloe would want from here, he decided not to let her realize anything. "I suppose I should go and see my security about this matter; we can't have a breach now can we?" It was getting really hard to keep his eyes off her, since she was alone _and_ in his room... maybe they could finally get a chance to themselves now.

"R... Right." Skye stammered as she noticed that Quinn seemed to believe her story but having him standing so close to her was getting stifling, she needed to move.

Unfortunately since she was still standing near the curtains, Skye ended up walking back into the wall while she spoke and mentally whacked herself for not realizing that Quinn would obviously follow her. He was definitely relentless and the moment he reached inches away from her face, she turned away, not daring to look him in the eyes; but he wasn't about to let her go so easily. Casually resting one hand against the wall near her waist, Quinn pinned one arm effectively trapping her there. He then raised his free hand to her shoulder and softly trailed his fingers down her soft skin, smirking to himself when she snapped her eyes shut, whoever Chloe was, she certainly proved to be an interesting challenge.

"Chloe..." He lowered his head to her cheek and brushed his lips across her ear as she shivered with the touch, "Tell me why you're really here." A little teasing beforehand was never a bad thing and Daniel wanted to savor every moment of this opportunity that had presented itself.

For a moment, Skye nearly buckled down when she figured out what Quinn was trying to do, but she wasn't about to let him win. Not against her. Not after his brother had already taken the chance from her hand the last time they'd met each other. There was too much at stake now and she needed to stay focused on the mission. The team was counting on her. _Coulson_ was counting on her. As soon as she remembered him, remembered his unwavering belief in her to see this through, Skye's eyes snapped open and she knew what needed to be done; there was no way Daniel Quinn was going to get anything from her. She just prayed that Coulson was safe and back inside the party by now, given what she was about to do, Skye didn't want to remember anything after it was all over.

Feeling the hand next to her waist grasping a tight hold, Skye glanced up and met his hard stare at last as she let herself smile just then, a small playful tug of her lips was all it took for him to be momentarily disarmed.

"Do you really want to know, _Daniel_?" She knew that sultry voice from her dream self was impossible to duplicate but she was definitely getting the hang of sounding as... seductive as she could get. Using his first name now was a bonus as she stressed on that one word.

"Yes. I would like to know, Chloe." While he had been slightly surprised to see her stand up to take charge, Daniel realized that this was probably the real Chloe he was about to meet.

"I came here... on purpose... because... I was... looking for you." Removing her hand from his hold she stepped forward as she placed it on his chest. "Your room was really unlocked, but I was definitely _not_ looking for anywhere else to be." There was no way she was going to admit to breaking past his scanner without implicating Coulson and since hers were the only fingerprints around, Quinn had to believe what she was telling him.

Raising an eyebrow when he heard her confession, Quinn couldn't help but chuckle as he understood what she was implying; this was her plan, Chloe wanted to be alone with him after all. There wasn't enough time just then, he still had guests to attend to and wrap up the party soon, but perhaps he could persuade her into staying for the after-party; with just the two of them.

"I must say... I'm impressed Chloe. Your acting is almost perfect; here I thought you were just a shy and quiet girl, but you're much more than that. You're bold. I like it." He really wanted to get her alone for good without having hundreds of people waiting around, but maybe... until then, he could still use this opportunity to gain something else from her.

"What can I say, it's all about adapting to the situations I find myself in." The two of them had stopped in the middle of the room and just as Skye made up her mind to drop the hand that was on his chest, he wrapped his hand around hers, keeping it there.

"So it's true then... all those rumors about you." Daniel knew he was probably wasting his time talking to Chloe but he was too curious not to know more, "You're not really here for Clark are you? It's all about his money isn't it?"

Once Skye heard Coulson's name, she briefly lost track of where she was supposed to be going with this pretense of being a much bolder version of herself. There was no use in trying to worry about him, she knew that he was probably waiting for her to get away from Quinn as soon as it was possible, but first things first, she needed to get him out of the room.

"What do you think?" Slipping back into Chloe was getting easier for her now, "I'm not with him now am I?" She added, dropping her voice lower but maintained her eye contact with Quinn.

"That is true... but I'm not sure what to think of you. Yet." Daniel replied, enjoying this back and forth with Chloe, she was definitely different than any other girls he'd met while living in Monaco and even when he traveled abroad.

"Well, why don't you let me help you change your thoughts then?" Brightening her smile this time around, Skye wondered how exactly she would go about getting him to leave the room with her when she was sure he probably didn't want to leave at all.

"I thought you'd never ask." This was the time, "Let's go downstairs and have a dance, then maybe we can discuss how else you can help me change my opinion of you." Quinn drawled as he took both her hands in his and pulled her in so that she almost fell into his arms.

"And how exactly... do you propose we do that?" Skye felt the breath get knocked out of her when she found herself being trapped in his hold on her lower waist, trying to stay focused.

"Stay until the after-party. I promise you it'll be a night you won't ever forget." His breath was hot on her face but it didn't make her feel anything but disgust to have him invading her personal space and getting so unbearably close.

"After-party?" Confused for a moment, Skye didn't catch on what he was trying to tell her but at least he had started to lead her towards the door, once she reached the party things would change for Quinn a lot, but not in the ways he was thinking.

"It's private and reserved only for my special guest." He smiled at her as he finally let go of her but slid his arm around her waist, "You."

"I wouldn't want to miss it for anything." Glancing up at him to be sure she sold her answer, Skye started to wonder if there would be a way to stop the revulsion building within her for the man stuck to her; she couldn't go on much longer.

As they walked out of Quinn's bedroom together, Skye couldn't help herself as she finally dared to look behind her shoulder and got a glimpse of a shadow outside the windows on the balcony. Coulson. He had been there all along. And now, as she headed back to the party, he remained where he stood rooted to the spot; hands clenched into tight fists and a look of wonder on his face.

The moment Skye had stepped through the curtains and revealed herself to Daniel Quinn, he had immediately walked through the french doors and onto the balcony where, after a quick observation of his surroundings, figured that if he had to jump to get back down, he'd get to that later. His first and most important priority was Skye; even though he knew her well enough to trust whatever plan she came up with, he couldn't help but stay behind to make sure that everything went okay - after all that had happened tonight with Quinn earlier and knowing her fears about being around the man, Coulson needed to be there for her because they had been through so much together over the last several months that he couldn't just leave his partner behind. If there was one thing he was certain of it was that; he considered Skye to be someone more than just an agent on his team, they weren't simply partners on this mission, there was no one he believed in more than her, not even himself because she had taught him to see the world they lived in differently and now when she was holding her own inside that room, Coulson would not rush in to mess things up but he wouldn't wait for her downstairs either.

And so, standing to one side away from the windows as he leaned against the marble walls, Coulson remained vigilant as he saw everything unfolding in front of his eyes - the way Quinn stalked Skye, going after her like she was some sort of prey to him, watching Skye get a hold of the situation as she flipped the tables around on Quinn, the subtle teasing that they exchanged and finally seeing them walk away to return back to the party. All the while he had not moved once because he knew Skye could handle herself around a man like Quinn; but in spite of that, Coulson didn't realize when the anger that was building up inside of himself started to claw its way to the surface and he had to clench his fists shut to stop himself from going after Quinn. He needed to calm down and think clearly, the mission was still at stake. Images of Quinn touching Skye and knowing she couldn't do anything but to let him believe her lies flooded his mind and Coulson couldn't control this unfounded feelings for much longer.

"Damn it!" He swore under his breath as he punched the wall before sighing deeply. "Skye..." Given all that she had done to save both herself and him from being caught in Quinn's room together, Coulson couldn't help but feel a little sense of pride towards her; she had managed to trick and partially seduce the man without him realizing what was really going on.

Their work was not finished just yet though. Even if Coulson held the information stored in Skye's hair comb, there was one last thing that they all had to accomplish; leave the party unnoticed, without raising anyone's or Quinn's suspicions even more. He knew that this would be tricky now but not impossible; once he regrouped with Skye then they could work out a quick getaway idea. However, the main thing was getting her out of Quinn's grasp and safe with the other team members. Crossing over to the edge of balcony and leaning over the railing, Coulson determined that the drop would be at least ten feet from the first floor down; he'd done this many times before but just as he decided it was safe enough to attempt a jump, he spotted a couple walking in the gardens below the balcony.

"Great, now what?" He thought out loud to himself as he backed away trying to stay out of sight; it had been unlikely to be completely sure that the grounds behind would stay deserted once Quinn had finished his big speech, and now Coulson was most likely stranded while Skye was still on her own, possibly waiting for him.

Thinking of checking the bedroom once again, Coulson started to make his way back towards the french doors when he noticed something; the far side of this balcony stretched on beyond the master bedroom. This meant that the other rooms were also connected and could be empty but unlocked. Without wasting any more time, he ran over to the farthest corner and spotted another set of french doors which were shut but not locked up and the room beyond looked more like a storage facility than anything since it was filled with boxes and furniture and paintings among other things, all of them covered with sheets. Jumping inside, Coulson made his way for the door and breathed a sigh of relief when it yanked open with ease; the corridor was still unguarded and he could hear the music already. Forcing his anger aside for the moment, he made his way carefully past the various rooms on the floor and when he reached the carpeted staircase, it was only minutes now before he would find Skye. To his surprise however, the second his feet touched the last step, Coulson found himself face to face with someone he did not expect to see here tonight; a tall woman dressed in a black velvet gown with her brunette hair tied up and the tell-tale pursed lips as she waited for Coulson. If it wasn't for the bright red streak in her hair, he might have needed to double check and be sure it was really her, without the spectacles he wouldn't have guessed.

"Victoria? What do you think you're doing here?" He whispered as she silently offered her hand for him to take, which he did and began to lead her towards the main hall. Of all the people they could send in, S.H.I.E.L.D. decided on Victoria Hand.

"I'm leading the second team in. Didn't Agent Blake fill you in on that earlier this week?" Ever so formal and stiff, it was quite unexpected for Coulson to see her undercover, even if it was just barely.

"He did. I just wasn't aware you were going to be leading the team, field agents are usually in charge of that duty. And you don't do undercover as far as I know." Coulson may not have been pleased to see her there but was relieved that backup had arrived already.

"Yes well, it seems to me that your team was successful in retrieving the information we needed. In spite of the fact that you failed to get everyone out in time and to the extraction point, which is why we had to come in regardless. It's time to wrap this up." Blunt and directly to the point, Victoria didn't even meet Coulson's stare as they entered the drawing room where he had been dancing with Skye only a little while ago.

"There was a tiny complication in the _escape_ plan but I was on my way to fix it." He explained to her while searching the room for Skye and spotting her in the center, with Daniel Quinn.

The music had shifted from an instrumental waltz to something more... romantic, if that was the right word and as Coulson watched Quinn holding Skye in his arms swaying with her to the song, those feelings of seething rage threatened to break through once again; he didn't understand what was happening to him but watching Skye being used like this was incomprehensible to him. He might have taken more time than anticipated to get to her but now that he was here, she didn't have to deal with this any longer; before he could move to go to her, Victoria stopped him with a completely offhand and unnecessary comment.

"So that was the complication." She stated as she too observed Skye with Daniel Quinn, "The way they're dancing together, its no wonder the entire room has fallen silent. Everyone seems to be jealous of them; but that's not going to last very long. Get your agent out of here before we make the arrest." Victoria ordered Coulson, not realizing that her words were affecting him more than they should have.

Not needing to be told the same thing twice, Coulson strode across the floor to where Quinn and Skye were ending their dance; for a split second he debated whether he should just pull her out of there without a word or continue to play the polite role of Clark Gregg but as soon as he saw Skye look up to meet his gaze and saw the utterly complete relief in her eyes, he knew there was no need to make a choice. Within seconds, she had excused herself away from Quinn and nearly ran over to where he stood. Coulson didn't pause to think before gently placing his arm around her waist as they silently agreed that it was done.

"Thank you." She said softly to him as they started to walk away, knowing the other guests and Daniel Quinn himself were staring at the two of them but she didn't care anymore, her role as Chloe Bennet was over at last. Coulson had come for her and it was time to leave.

"It's been a long night." He commented as he wondered to himself if Skye wanted to talk about what she had just gone through but knew that it all could wait until they got back to the Bus.

Skye didn't reply back as she had finally started to feel the events of these last two hours getting to her; all she could think of was having Coulson by her side as they started to make their way towards the limousines. She enjoyed the feeling of his hand on her waist and couldn't help herself as she leaned in and rested her head on his chest. Hearing the sigh of content in her voice, Coulson didn't say anything else to her as they walked past Victoria Hand who was now standing with Agent Blake by her side and noticed the rest of his team were already heading out of the mansion. Whatever happened to Daniel Quinn after this wasn't important to him; a report from HQ would probably find its way to him stating that he had been arrested and deported to the Fridge or be taken in for questioning to the Hub beforehand, Coulson could care less about all that. The only thing on his mind was the woman next to him, Skye had gone above and beyond to make this mission a success just as FitzSimmons, May and Ward had done as well. It was finished now and maybe there would be a chance for him to figure out just what his feelings were trying to tell him; one thing he had figured out as soon as they reached their destination, all the anger and rage and other inexplicable emotions he'd experienced earlier had vanished the moment Skye had clasped her hands in his.

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**Well there you have it... thoughts? **

**A/N: Probably should have added this up top but here's fine as well. For the sake of having some sort of chronology and reference to the earlier episodes let's just say that everything that happens in this story takes place _after _1x15 "Yes, Men" but will not be following the episode pattern that follows afterwards. So in case anyone was wondering, no HYDRA, no John Garrett and certainly no Ward going evil and betraying the team. While I have no problem with it per se, i just don't want to write his character that way in my fanfics.**


	7. The First Hug

**And I'm back a week later! Oops? It was a slightly more hectic time for me since I'm not really used to going out too much but here we are at last with a new chapter! Not to mention I figured since today is a time for celebration what better way to do it than with an update? The reason for celebrating would be... freedom! from my braces... at long last... it only took oh about 3 years, 5 months and 20 days! Lol... anyway, Thank You to my readers - Wolfca, mynameisagent, firerosedreamer67, PreciousHeartBeats, byLunaA, Ace and my guest reviewer for the lovely feedback! Presenting 'the first hug' between Skye & Coulson! ^_^**

**Disclaimer: Must I continue to remind myself about the fact that I own nothing? **

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The plush carpet was soft beneath his feet as Coulson continued to pace up and down in his office, having lost count of how long he'd been at this hours ago; the only thing on his mind was... confusion. A lot of confusion that he still couldn't make heads or tails of and that in turn was starting to get slightly frustrating. Pausing in his tracks to lean against the desk, Coulson folded his arms as he started to think about what exactly it was that he needed to figure out - the emotions of anger were already on his mind but there was something else he seemed to be missing. When the team had returned back to the Bus from their mission, Skye had bid him goodnight and turned in along with the others and even though he initially had decided on the same course, after changing into something more comfortable than his formal suit and laying down in bed, it wasn't long after that did he realize sleep was going to evade him; all these thoughts were scattered across his mind and he couldn't help remember everything that had happened in Quinn's bedroom when he had left Skye to see her plan through alone. And so he'd come away here to the office, hoping that if he could figure out what was going on with his feelings maybe he could get some rest.

Closing his eyes as he thought back to those moments out on the balcony when he observed all the events that took place inside the room, he hadn't been able to hear either of them say anything but from their actions he had surmised what was going on; in his attempts to try and seduce Skye, the younger Quinn brother hadn't realized when the hacker had caught on and flipped the situation completely so that she was the one pretending to seduce him. The entire act did work out in the end as it had let Skye and Quinn reach the drawing room once again where they danced and remained distracted enough until Agent Victoria Hand came in with Agent Felix Blake to tie up the loose ends.

_"The way they're dancing together... Everyone seems to be jealous of them."_ Those were the words that Victoria had spoken aloud to Coulson just before he'd gone to Skye.

And that was what he had been missing, Coulson realized it now when his eyes snapped open on remembering this; jealous was the exact word that she'd used and it explained everything that he was really feeling. Apart from all that anger which coursed through his veins the moment he saw Quinn lay his hands on Skye, there was also jealousy that he had experienced.

"But why?" He said out loud as a frown form across his brow, standing up and rubbing his head trying to make sense of what he'd just learned. He had been jealous... but... of what? And why?

A tiny but incessant beeping noise from somewhere behind him broke through the reverie of incoherent thoughts as he turned around to pick up the alarm clock on his desk; it wasn't that old compared to most of his belongings surrounding him but using a real digital clock was better than a cell phone. _Skye._ Recalling that night he had met her at the bar almost a week ago while she was working on the mission details, he had made hot chocolate for the two of them and when she hadn't noticed the froth on her lips, Coulson had reached out to wipe it off with his finger... but their moment had been interrupted with her alarm... and now, his thoughts about this jealousy he'd experienced tonight seemed to be connected to Skye. Seeing his partner dancing with Daniel Quinn had brought about those feelings again but he also knew that when she was with him as they left the party together, the jealousy and anger both seemed to dissipate. What was going on with him he didn't know but what he did know was that in almost every common circumstance that anyone faced in their lives, _jealousy_ was a factor that came into play when there were feelings involved. Romantic feelings.

As soon as the idea of 'romantic feelings' crossed his mind, he wasn't thinking about a lot just then but he knew that he was thinking of Skye and if... no... it wasn't possible. Or it was, but if that turned out to be the case... he couldn't be sure... was it all because of last night? And if he thought about Skye, did it mean that she also... or did she just see him as who he had always been to her all this time... nothing more. Coulson sighed deeply; this wasn't making any sense at all and things were continuing to get more complicated and less easier to understand. Glancing at the clock, he saw that the time read quarter past 6 in the morning; without his knowing, he'd ended up staying awake all night long either walking around in the office or sitting behind the desk spinning a pen while his mind strayed to their mission. The one thing he was certain of at this very minute was that he definitely could use a cup of steaming hot coffee to help him get his nerves settled since it wasn't possible for them to be more _un-_settled than they were already and it would also be an excuse to get out and stretch his legs with a long walk on the Bus. With that plan in mind and believing that May was still in the cockpit while his team slept soundly, Coulson left his office and began heading towards the kitchen; it just so happened that he had to pass by the bunks on his way there and unexpectedly almost bumped into Simmons who had chosen that precise second to open her door and peek outside.

"Oh! Agent Coulson. Good morning." Jemma was slightly surprised to see her boss wide awake at such an early hour, "I didn't know anyone else was awake sir." She added to him as she started to ramble slightly.

"Good morning to you too, Agent Simmons. Is the rest of the team up already?" He asked her, wondering why today of all days the entire Bus had to be filled before the sun had properly risen.

"No. No, we're all still asleep actually. I'm a bit of a light sleeper as I did hear Agent May going to her bunk a little while ago but just now I did hear someone shuffling around... from Skye's room and so I got up to see if everything was alright." Trying to hide her yawn from Coulson, Jemma looked at him sheepishly wondering what his reaction would be.

"Skye? I was planning on going to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee for myself, maybe she's there as well. I should probably go and check on her. You get some rest Jemma, we still have a couple more hours before reaching back home." Coulson did not seem taken aback with surprise to hear that Skye was awake, but rather to Jemma it appeared as if he sort of anticipated as much.

"Yes sir, I'll see you later." Deciding it was best to let him find Skye as soon as he could and talk to her, Jemma quietly went back inside her bunk and closed the door when she saw her boss leaving.

Whatever had happened at the mansion last night, she'd observed Skye's silence on the drive back to the Bus along with Agent May but neither of them asked her for details because they knew perfectly well that their teammate preferred keeping things to herself until she was ready to open up. Even more so were her chances of talking to Coulson directly about anything, which would be much more likely to happen now that they were the only ones who had the privacy of being alone for a while. Smiling to herself and wondering if she should sneak into Fitz's room to wake him up in order to check if the dwarves could provide them with some... surveillance, Jemma decided against that thought and slid back under her blankets and fell asleep once more. As curious as she was to know what exactly was going on between her friend and her boss, they truly needed to have some time to themselves; maybe later in the afternoon she and Fitz could work on something to help get some answers.

Meanwhile, once Coulson had left Jemma in her bunk to see if Skye was really in the kitchen, he had paused on his walk there. The chances of finding her at the bar would be more likely since the hot chocolate ingredients were permanently stashed away with the liquor... but for some reason he couldn't explain, Coulson seemed to know that Skye wouldn't be found making herself a drink at this hour, no. Judging from what he knew of her and all that had happened last night, she was probably taking some 'me-time' to herself before the others woke up. And so, he changed his path and took the stairs from Avionics downstairs which led to the lab and the main gangway where their cars were parked. And surely enough, once he reached there he knew that Skye was here. Glancing below the railing, Coulson noted that his assumption was slightly miscalculated for while he did find her moments later, she wasn't sitting inside the van but rather had taken the opportunity of an early morning awakening to start her training. Ward had set up the punching bag in the center the morning before and hadn't taken it down which had given Skye a ready chance to get some punches in; Coulson observed her from his vantage point at a height and could see the concentration etched across her features.

It was in that moment did Coulson realize one thing - no matter what his feelings towards Skye were, he could only imagine what she was going through at this time. Given the events of last night which had put her in the limelight by being the target of Daniel Quinn's fascination, Coulson pushed all his confusion aside as he descended the stairs quietly and approached Skye intending to check up on her. As he got nearer, he realized the young woman had closed her eyes as she was letting the music from her headphones wash away everything that she was possibly thinking about and hadn't noticed his presence yet. Taking this opportunity in hand, Coulson grinned as he stood behind the punching bag, holding it in place for her to have a better shot; only moments later after a handful of punches did Skye open her eyes and stop.

"A.C?" Skye hadn't expected anyone else to be awake and even if that wasn't the case, she wondered how Coulson had found her already when she just reached here only a couple of minutes ago.

She was surprised to see him here at this early hour, but even more than that, when she removed her headphones, Skye surprised herself when she actually gasped slightly on finally _seeing_ Coulson properly for the first time since she realized he was there; he was still wearing his night clothes which consisted only of black pajamas and a short-sleeved black S.H.I.E.L.D. t-shirt which definitely had to be tight on him. Her eyes were not frozen on the spot as they kept flitting from his really, _really_ toned arms back to his... well-formed chest and back again, but luckily she was aware that they were not gaping wide open.

"Skye... good morning." Coulson did notice that she had suddenly fallen silent upon noticing him standing there and heard the tone of her voice but simply assumed that she was surprised he did manage to find her.

"I... umm... hey." Lame! After all this time and everything that the two of them had been through, how was the only thing she could first say to him a 'hey' and without any of her usual cheeriness? Skye knew the answer to that and almost automatically figured that this was probably why Coulson was here. "I was just getting some training started before today's session." She explained before he got a chance to say something else, trying to settle her uneven breathing which wasn't entirely due to her five minute workout.

"It's pretty early for a session with Ward. Did you get any sleep?" He knew there were two ways to go about this and he chose the direct way.

"Some yeah." Skye shrugged as she backed away from the punching bag and walked around to where Coulson stood but only because she had to grab a water bottle. Her feelings were still all over the place and she didn't know what she wanted just then. "Did you?" She asked, now that she was closer to him, she observed the look in his eyes and felt disheartened at what she saw.

"A bit." They both knew that these half-answers were not what the other person was used to and felt the tension in the air around them; the only thing Coulson wanted was to do whatever he could to change that fact.

"Well I should head upstairs and meet the others for breakfast." Assuming that everyone else had also woken up by now, Skye decided to leave, not knowing why she was feeling this way; after all she went through last night, it wasn't like she felt upset about anything Coulson had done. In fact, every inch of her body was screaming at her to stay around him for a while longer; she knew that he stayed behind to watch over her last night and immediately found his way back to her once all was said and done and yet her feet seemed to be taking her away from him.

Reaching for a towel that was draped across one of the tables there, Skye was about to head for the lab and then towards the kitchen. Before she could even take a step forward, Coulson had stopped her; reaching out to take a hold of her wrist and waiting until she turned around before he debated if he should say something to her. There was plenty of safe distance between them and yet Skye couldn't help make the unconscious decision to close the gap; she knew that Coulson was giving her the space she didn't know she needed, but this was her choice. They locked gazes and stood facing each other, a few feet apart with neither of them speaking a word. However, after what seemed like several prolonged minutes although it was mere seconds, Coulson still held onto Skye's hand drawing her closer to him as he draped the other arm around her back as he gently hugged her. The moment she mind registered that Coulson was hugging her, Skye immediately reached out and put her arms around his neck in response. It seemed as if that was what he was waiting for because the second he felt her touch, he let go of her hand and snaked it around her waist; the gesture made Skye close her eyes at this feeling, it was literally warm and fuzzy for a first real hug that they both reciprocated. She even went as far to rest her head against his shoulder, just like she had the night before; all the stress that she had built inside her deflated in one giant sigh as she felt herself loosen up in his arms. How long they stayed like that, neither of them knew but it was clearly longer than any regular hug would last and soon they both broke apart at the same time; whatever awkwardness or tension or unspoken thoughts lingered in the air vanished as soon as they had hugged each other.

"Skye..." Coulson started to say but before the question even left his mouth, she had already answered him because it was obvious that he wanted to know how she was doing and if the flutter in her heart was anything to go by, Skye knew that her mood was starting to visibly brighten.

"Thank you A.C." She had finally understood that the churning emotions within her which settled itself on its own with this hug meant that there was nothing else she needed to worry about, not when she knew Coulson would always be there. "Not just for the hug. For everything. For last night." Skye smiled as she said those last words because truly, it had been a magical night, no matter what the mission had entailed.

"Glad to know you're feeling better." Was all he replied but Coulson did smile back as they fell into their regular niche together.

"So... breakfast?" Skye wondered if this sounded a little direct because by now she had started to consider the possibility that maybe the rest of their team still remained asleep and it meant getting a chance to spend some more time with Coulson.

Unfortunately, at that very moment, a loud thumping noise was heard from above their heads and as they both glanced up to the ceiling, it was obvious that Fitz possibly was awake and had decided to wake Ward and Simmons up as well. When they met each other's gaze again, Skye already knew what Coulson's answer would be and in spite of that, this morning had started off on a bright note and she was going to keep it the same way.

"I'll get some later, if May is already awake I need to talk to her about where we're headed first." The temptation to follow Skye was another unexpected thought that crossed his mind but Coulson knew it could wait.

He wasn't sure what his feelings meant and neither did he know anything about Skye's feelings, but if this was something that would turn into more, then waiting a little while longer wouldn't be an issue. And as he watched the retreating form of the young woman who seemed to be constantly in his thoughts since a while now, Coulson felt that whatever this was... it definitely did not appear to be one-sided at all. With that thought in mind, he smiled to himself as he headed for the cockpit, a new day awaited them and there was much to be done.

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**A/N:** The chapter feels a little bit wonky to me because its the first time I've tried to write Coulson's p.o.v but there'll be a more follow-up to his thoughts on jealousy and his feelings for Skye in the next chapter itself! So... I will be writing the next few chapters with more focus on him but Skye is also going to be featured with her thoughts as well... but... thoughts?


	8. Coulson dreams about Skye

**Oh look! I finally managed to get another chapter written before the week was up... yay! A less busier week did help along with having most of this prompt thought out a while ago already! I'd just like to take a quick second to say "Thanks!" to all my readers - byLunaA, wolfca, Ace, PreciousHeartBeats, firerosedreamer67 and my guest reviewer! This is another Coulson centric p.o.v chapter but I do feel much better about this one and I hope you do too! Presenting... the first dream that Coulson has about Skye! ^_^**

**Disclaimer: One day... one day I'll either have something of Marvel's that I own or I'll just stop these altogether.**

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_"Phil?" Skye's soft but surprised voice reached Coulson's ears as he turned around to see her walking towards him, dressed in a knee-length rose pink sleeveless dress with a hint of gold. "What... what is all this?" More than surprise, it sounded as if she was... in awe._

_"Hey, beautiful." Reaching out to wrap his arm around her waist, Coulson gave her a light peck on the lips before gesturing to the view in front of them, "This... is our date for tonight." He explained as he led her down the path which opened up to a private beach that had been specially reserved for the two of them. Tonight he had dressed simple - a grey shirt that was unbuttoned at the top and black pants without a jacket; just the way she liked._

_"A date. On the beach? Under the moonlight." Unable to believe the sight that met her eyes, Skye still managed a bright smile as she realized that this was a dream come true and it was all because of the man beside her. "This is just..." She couldn't even find the right words to describe how her heart was fluttering as everything started to seem more real, it was surreal and magical._

_"Cliche?" He tried to finish her sentence as they arrived at a table set for two which was already fully prepared with dishes, desserts and even a bottle of champagne. _

_"Yes. Sort of, I mean... in a good way obviously." Skye giggled when she found him pulling out her chair before she sat down, the perfect gentleman as always. "Have I forgotten a special day?" She couldn't help but ask him, this just seemed so... special, just like the other dates they'd been on but each had coincided with their six-month anniversary or first year anniversary or both their birthday's._

_"I'm glad you liked it. Dinner on the beach is probably overdone but it is romantic too." Coulson said to Skye as he sat opposite and took her hand in his. "And no, this isn't in honor of anything special at all, I just... thought of doing something special for us... it's been a while since our last date and we do have the whole weekend to ourselves..." Drifting off at the end, he grinned when he noticed Skye's light blush in the candlelight._

_"It's perfect. I was actually going to say 'magical' earlier... a magical, wonderful, perfect cliche." She loved everything about this night already and it had only just begun. _

_"Well then, allow me to create a little more magic for you sweetheart." Letting go of Skye's hand only for a minute, Coulson stood up once again and walked around to where she sat, offering his hand to her._

_Glancing up at him in a slight state of confusion, Skye didn't blink before taking hold of his hand and got up as well, wondering what he had planned for tonight. There was definitely more than just this one surprise, but what was coming next she didn't know._

_"Phil... where are you taking me now?" The two of them had not even left the tiny enclosure but Skye noticed that Coulson had brought her close to the path they had just walked down from, near a few rocks and pebbles which were strewn on the sandy beach._

_"Just wait... you'll see." Stopping nearby, Coulson gestured for Skye to stand in the same spot without moving while he walked to the rocks and bent down; that was when she finally spotted something which had been concealed in the shadows all along, a small music player. "Here we are." He said as he pressed a button and stood back up once the soft song started._

_Taking his place in front of Skye, Coulson wrapped his arm around her waist again and took one hand in his as he slowly began to sway in time with the music. It took only a few seconds but when Skye listened to the music playing, her eyes widened as her smile brightened. _

_"This song! Isn't this the same song that..." She began, but before she could say anything else, Coulson had completed the sentence for her._

_"That we danced on together for the first time in my office. When I taught you how to waltz. Thought you might like it." He replied as they found their sync as always and continued to dance, though a little more slower this time around._

_"I love it Phil. This night is truly magical, thank you." Skye couldn't help but feel a tiny bit emotional and before Coulson could notice her eyes tearing up, she rested her head against his chest and moved her arms up to his neck._

_"You're welcome Skye." Coulson whispered softly, pausing for a second only to tuck away a strand of her hair behind her ear. _

_Once the song finished, they remained there, cherishing in the moment and not letting it end until they decided it was time. The dinner wasn't going anywhere and the night was still young, which meant there was plenty of opportunities for more surprises. In the meantime, Skye had thought of something she could do for Coulson and breaking apart from her hold around him but still staying where she was, met his gaze under the moonlight and saw the twinkle in his eyes, telling her he knew what was coming next. Standing on her tiptoes, Skye placed one hand on his cheek as she brought her lips to his in a soft, gentle kiss to which he responded in return by pulling her to him as his hands went to her lower back and deepened the moment when he felt Skye moan as her lips opened allowing him entry and her fingers tangled up in his hair. This was what she had been looking forward to and just like every time before this, Coulson never ceased to amaze her. _

_When they broke apart for air, Coulson didn't want this to stop and so he began to leave tiny kisses on Skye's neck as he trailed down to her shoulder and kissing the silk ribbon that tied her dress, tugged on it once with his teeth knowing it was open when he heard her soft gasp. His hands were still on her waist and her lips were nibbling on his ear when he undid the second ribbon on the other side of the dress, giving him the chance to simply tug on the zip slowly and carefully..._

Coulson's eyes snapped open as he sat upright and tried to figure out where he was; it took him only a moment to remember that he was in his bed on the Bus, not in the middle of the beach. He had been asleep and those thoughts... they'd been more than just that this time around, he seemed to have progressed to dreaming. About Skye. Letting out a deep breath and laying his head back against the pillows, Coulson started to focus on his breathing for a few minutes; a quick and effective exercise to calm his mind down and let the images of his dream settle enough for him to try and make sense of what he was going through.

The beach, the dance, the kiss... Skye in that dress, their first song, hearing her call him 'Phil' even if only in a dream... a dream that took place in the future... all these bits and pieces seemed to be part of a larger picture that he still couldn't see but somehow, Coulson knew that what he had seen tonight was the key to figuring everything out. Only this morning he had met Skye downstairs as she took out her anger from their mission in Monaco on the punching bag and in spite of all the feelings he'd experienced as well, he couldn't fathom what she had gone through and putting aside his own anger _and_ jealousy, Coulson had hugged her. The rest of the day had gone by in a flurry as May had received orders to land at the Hub for a quick debriefing about the mission before they were given a few days off until the next mission came through; which meant that while he focused his resources on tracking Ian Quinn down, Skye was busy caught up in training with Ward and though they had crossed paths with each other, there hadn't been enough time to talk more. What exactly did he want to talk to her about he wasn't sure... the only thing he knew was that the jealousy was still there.

"Why? Why do I feel jealous? And what did the dream mean?" Coulson voiced his thoughts out loud as he tried to make sense of everything.

An idea came to him just then, if the feelings were something he'd felt for longer than he initially thought, maybe he needed to first figure out when this had begun for him. Closing his eyes as he began to recall the events over the last several weeks, Coulson started to remember it all, before the mission even was underway - gifting Skye his mother's antique hair comb, every dance lesson they'd had together, the night at the bar when Skye was working and he had made hot chocolate for her, that unexpected turbulence... seeing Skye in his office several hours before...

"That's it; the night of the turbulence." This time, Coulson didn't just sit upright in bed as he continued to relive memories of his encounters with Skye, he turned to sit on the edge as he clasped his hands together and focused on that one particular incident.

He remembered being in his office getting ready for bed that night when Skye had suddenly showed up unannounced, possibly to talk about the mission in more detail since it had been the first time they'd gotten word about it, but for some reason before she even set foot inside, Coulson had turned around to see her mumble something before running out and not bringing it up even when he had gone to check on her during the turbulence. The next few days after that... Coulson had observed a slight change in Skye's behavior, she seemed to be very conscious of herself when he was in the same room and during any of their briefings, she stood next to FitzSimmons but didn't meet his gaze for too long except when giving her report. And before he could ask her anything, that night at the bar... she seemed perfectly normal again; as if something had changed again, bringing the old Skye back.

"Did she...?" He started to say as the thoughts all started to connect with each other forming an idea in his mind; it was almost but certain now that there was a good chance he had understood when Skye might have realized her feelings for him.

Not just that, but the more Coulson thought about it, when he unconsciously reacted on seeing the froth on her lips and reached out to wipe it away, he had been thinking about those eyes of hers and remembered his first thought on seeing Skye there had been that she was beautiful. Once that word was in his mind, he shifted to the evening of their mission and going to her bunk, seeing her dressed in that gorgeous midnight blue gown and that momentary brush of his hands against hers when he took the hair comb to place it in her hair, dancing with her as Clark and Chloe at the mansion, hiding behind the curtains together... not to mention the morning when he had begun to teach Skye to dance, feeling her hand on his shoulder while he rested his on her waist, the smooth and swift transition as they danced in a near perfect sync and then twirling her around... all the details now meant more than they had. Coulson finally understood everything, but most importantly, he knew what the jealous feelings were about. Why they were there, where they had come from. He was never jealous of Daniel Quinn, no. His jealousy had to do with the fact that in that moment when it awoke within him, it was because he wanted nothing more in the world than to be the man who had Skye in his arms and be the person she could see herself with, someone who would protect her, be there for her, stay by her side, always remain her partner and... love her... always.

"I love her." As soon as those words were on his lips, Coulson knew that it was true. For whatever reason, he hadn't really ever thought about his feelings so deeply and earnestly but now that he had, there was nothing else he needed just then. "I'm in love with Skye..." He repeated, hearing the words loud and clearly even if his voice had been a mere whisper and felt the smile forming across his face.

Sighing to himself as he fell back on the bed, this time with his hands tucked under his head as he stared at the ceiling, Coulson didn't think about anything else for several minutes, allowing himself to cherish this time immediately after accepting his feelings and letting the contentment wash over him. _Content?_ He couldn't be content; how was that even possible... he still hadn't said those three words to Skye. And neither had she. Frowning for a second as he mulled over that, Coulson realized that if Skye did indeed have feelings for him as well then it was possible she hadn't spoken about this to him all along because she wasn't sure of his feelings towards her... and maybe she had been worried if he did love her... but enough time had gone by already, maybe even too much if he thought about it... there was no need to waste any more; he would go to her now and tell her how he felt right away. The rest of everything that came after this would be something they both could deal with... together.

"Hmm... 7 o'clock already." Coulson mused as he glanced at the time, wondering if it was wise to simply jump up and find Skye now. The rest of his team could be awake by now, it was only by luck the day before that they had been asleep till late morning. "I should see where she is." One step at a time; there may not necessarily be a right minute to talk to her about this but at least he could try and find some privacy away from the others.

Having made his mind up, Coulson decided it was time he got ready soon before heading out and checking Skye's bunk first hoping to catch her sooner rather than later. A quarter of an hour later found Coulson passing through the briefing room after lucking out on the bunk, kitchen and bar; if she wasn't up here then perhaps he would find her downstairs training with Ward. As soon as he reached the docking bay, he heard loud peals of laughter coming from inside the lab and on arriving there saw FitzSimmons and Skye mimicking Ward... in front of him to his amusement; but Coulson didn't notice anything else... his attention was riveted on the young woman standing with her back to the doors as her laughter echoed through the walls and reached his ears, he could only see the way her eyes twinkled under the lights in the room, the comfort and familiarity she felt around her teammates, all the bubbling energy and cheerfulness so early in the morning, the beaming smile that only grew on her lips... lips that he had kissed not so long ago in his dreams... and now Coulson wondered to himself what it would be like outside the dream.

"She's doing much better today." A voice from behind suddenly interrupted his thoughts as Coulson noticed May standing next to him, watching the same thing he was until just then when she turned to face him.

"So she is." Coulson replied back, he'd had a nagging feeling that maybe Simmons was someone who knew more about him and Skye than the others, even if there was nothing yet; May on the other hand, he might have guessed that she had her thoughts but hadn't said anything to him all along. Until now.

"Are you going to tell her?" May asked, sounding so calm and neutral about the whole thing that to Coulson he might have thought she was talking about something as normal as the weather if he didn't know better.

"How did you know?" He answered her question with one of his, not breaking away from his gaze on the lab but still standing in May's direction. "Was it that obvious?" Coulson added as an afterthought and wondered if Fitz and Ward knew as well.

"I had a feeling... but no, it wasn't too obvious. Jemma was the first to figure it out; you already knew that though." She had been watching him and as she noticed the look on his face and clearly saw the love he had for Skye in that second, May finally smiled.

"Yes, Jemma has always seemed like she knew more than she was trying to show. I think she just wanted to help... but chose to wait it out and see what happened first." It was only when he saw that sliver of a smile on his colleague's face did he glance her way and saw her reaction to the news; she was happy for him and he was thankful he had someone like May to talk to.

"And what is going to happen first?" Curious to hear what he had to say, May waited patiently as she saw him focused only on Skye as if she was the sole person in the room with him.

Coulson didn't reply to May's question for a few minutes as he turned his gaze back to the lab where the others had finally noticed his presence and stopped fooling around to resume their work - Fitz was working with his dwarves, Jemma was checking Ward's routine test results and Skye was busy on her laptop; but when she felt his gaze on her, she looked up and smiled at him before going back to what she was doing, leaving Coulson to continue watching her.

"I'm going to tell Skye that I love her." No matter how long it took, no matter what he had to do to find that one moment of privacy, no matter if he had to shoo his entire team off the Bus, Coulson was determined to tell Skye how he felt today itself and if all went well then maybe he would see what a real kiss would be like.

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**Well... well... well... thoughts anyone? I'm not 100% sure when the next chapter will be up, gotta go for my final dentist appointment day after to get the top braces off... but definitely sometime before next weekend! xD**


	9. First Kiss

**New chapter time! Apologies for the delay, I was having a little personal stuff going on which wasn't giving me any inspiration to write even though I am finally freeeee of braces and got the wonderful opportunity to see Clark in "The Road to Christmas" with Jen thanks to my lovely reader _Wolfca_ because that was definitely where I found most of my inspiration for this scene! Quick big "Thanks!" to all my readers - mynameisagent, Wolfca, byLunaA, firerosedreamer67, Ace, PreciousHeartBeats, and my guest reviewer for the great feedback as always! All I have to say before anyone decides to read or not read... Ward is still good in this story and nice and doesn't have feelings for Skye so I hope there's a difference in seeing him as he is on the show and how he is portrayed here.**

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Skye closed her eyes for a minute as she leaned against the wall to catch her breath; her training session with Ward had just ended and after a couple of rounds of hand to hand combat followed by basic sparring lessons, Skye had decided to end the afternoon with another turn on the punching bag, it was probably the best thing for her to just release all the anger that had been pent up inside her because she could finally feel it fading away at last. After almost three days of working out nonstop, she wondered if Ward would not object to taking at least a week off from practice because she was sure he was as bruised and sore as he looked. Flexing her hands she grimaced slightly as she felt the dull throb in her fingers turn into something a little more painful and so she immediately began to unwrap the bandages that Ward insisted were required every time they trained.

As Skye continued to slowly wind the cloth up while she removed them, her thoughts strayed back to the only thing that remained on her mind for more than the last 24 hours... the hug that Coulson had given her... in this very same place where she stood just now, which obviously was not helping things because even though she had been taken aback in that moment, not only had she hugged him in return but had also thanked him, Skye still couldn't think of a reason as to why Coulson had hugged her in the first place. It had been an unexpected but pleasant surprise and it possibly could have been another sign that maybe he did have feelings for her; unfortunately, the previous day turned out to be more busy than she would have guessed given that the team was supposed to be on a mini-break before the next mission details came through and neither of them had gotten a chance to really talk. Skye knew that it was partially her fault because while she had no reason to avoid him, she was still trying to get the after-effects of their previous mission out of her system and had inadvertently ended up caught in her own feelings and emotions over everything that had happened in Monaco that she didn't stop to think about Coulson's feelings.

"Hey, you done yet?" Ward called out to Skye as he finished packing away the last of their training equipment and turned around to find Skye busy with her bandages but when he noticed that she hadn't replied to his question, his brow creased as he observed that she seemed deep in thought about something and looked worried.

It was true that Skye hadn't heard Ward's voice because once she finished one hand, it was almost an automatic switch to her other hand without paying attention to anything else as her mind was focused on realizing how silly it had been of her to ignore Coulson without meaning to do so. If there was anyone she could open up to, it was him and there was no doubt in her mind that she wanted to talk to Coulson; maybe then she would find the courage to speak up and tell her about her feelings towards him as well. Or if it could be accomplished, Skye wanted to see if Coulson would open up and talk to her about his feelings. About something, anything, everything. Sighing to herself and staring into nothingness, Skye didn't even sense Ward's presence near her when he walked over to where she stood but when she felt the bandages of his hand on her skin, she assumed that she wasn't done with hers and absent-mindedly reached out to take Ward's hand in both of hers as she started to remove them.

"Skye?" Curious to see what she was so involved in, Ward decided to ask Skye what she was thinking about but instead, he found himself staring at her in surprise as she worked to unwrap his bandages when it seemed clear to him that she had no idea of what she was doing. "Hey... Skye." By now whatever worry he thought she had passed over to Ward and he touched her arm gently with his free hand, hoping to break through her concentration.

"Huh... what?" Skye blinked several times when she felt a warm hand and glanced up to see Ward standing a few feet away from her.

"Are you okay Skye? You had me worried there for a second when you weren't replying to me." He asked her, still aware of her hands working on their own on his and tried not to grin.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. Why..." She started to ask when she realized that she could still feel Ward's hand in hers and looked down to see that she was holding his palm, while the bandages were now lying in a bundle on the floor. "Oh... did I just...?" Skye put two and two together and understood why Ward was looking at her in amusement. "Oops!" Finally letting go of his hand she glanced up back to him and couldn't help herself from letting out a tiny laugh.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Ward offered when he finished freeing his other hand of the bandages and focused on Skye, "Is everything alright with you? I noticed you were in deep thought a few minutes ago but I didn't realize you were busy contemplating the meaning of life." He added with a laugh of his own.

"Ha. Ha. Ward, very funny. I was just distracted for a moment that's all. No contemplation here. Really, I'm okay." Skye reassured him; it was nice to know that he cared about her enough to be there when she needed a friend but until she didn't figure out what to do about this 'thing' she had or didn't have with Coulson, she had to keep this to herself for the moment.

"Okay... if you say so... shall we go up and get lunch?" Ward knew when he had to respect Skye's decision to keep her thoughts to herself without prying, "After almost getting turned into a pulp I could use some food right about now."

Hearing him comment on her fighting skills which were definitely a big improvement after all these weeks, Skye felt herself smiling and knew that even if the worry about her and Coulson would still be on her mind, she could spend some time with Ward and the others. Swatting him on the shoulder as she walked ahead towards the kitchen Skye decided that no matter what happened, if she could find a handful of free moments alone with Coulson that day, she would lay it all out to him and see where things took them.

"Where is everyone?" Upon reaching the kitchen and finding it empty, Skye looked to Ward who simply shrugged before setting about to making some food.

"It looks like FitzSimmons were here a little while ago." He commented as he noticed the ingredients left behind by their team mates on the counter, "Hmm... the famous sandwich, good thing I wasn't here." Ward chuckled as he noticed Skye's confusion from her seat at the sofa.

"What on earth are you talking about Ward?" Skye wondered if she should see where Coulson was at the moment but figured running away and leaving Ward with more questions than she could answer was not the best course of action.

She was feeling a little antsy now and figured it was probably because the Bus was not airborne yet; that morning in a quick and hurried meeting, Coulson had explained to her and everyone else about an emergency call he had received from Director Fury personally stating that he come alone to an unspecified location for a meeting as soon as it was possible. May had immediately diverted their flight path towards Illinois and Coulson left with Lola as soon as they had touched down. Glancing at the clock, Skye noted that it had been several hours already and there was no sign of his return yet, but she wasn't worried; whatever this meeting was about had to be immensely important if the Director had contacted Coulson directly. And so she resolved to wait patiently until he came back when he would possibly tell them what had happened.

"Don't you remember the infamous sandwich Jemma had made for Fitz when we went on that mission to Russia?" Ward had finally finished preparing a quick meal for him and Skye, "Let's see what it was..." He sat down on the sofa across from where she sat and thought about the exact words Fitz had used, "Prosciutto and buffalo mozzarella with a hint of homemade pesto aioli. That was it!"

"Oh... the sandwich that you ended up _throwing_ away before Fitz could even eat it?" Skye smirked as she teased him, remembering all too well about that incident.

"Hey! There were search dogs lurking around us and if they caught scent of the sandwich we'd have been eaten instead. I acted on instinct." Ward tried to explain but knew it was pointless; Skye and Jemma hadn't let him hear the last of it for weeks after they had returned from Russia and even now it seemed that he wasn't off the hook.

"Without thinking first." She added with a giggle but then stopped almost instantly when she saw May passing through the kitchen heading towards the cockpit mostly. "Agent May!" Skye called out, "Do you want to join us for lunch?" She asked, wondering why Ward had suddenly gone quiet.

"No thank you Skye, I ate my lunch already. Coulson has just returned and he's given a new destination to Boston for our next mission. Wheels up in 5." May was polite but curt as she nodded to Skye before leaving them to their meal.

Once May was gone and Skye heard the soft noise of the cockpit door closing, she rounded on Ward and just stared at him with wide eyes and not saying anything until he looked up at her and noticed that she wasn't planning on letting this go away so easily.

"What?" He asked her, the lightness of his voice was gone and now all Skye heard was a bluntness to it that she hadn't in a long time.

"Wow... if I didn't know any better I'd say I was sitting in front row seats of Disney on Ice. What is going on with you and May?" Cutting straight to the point, Skye asked him directly. It wasn't that hard to see the change between them ever since Monaco. Strange how that one mission had seemingly affected all the others as well as herself.

"Nothing. Why would you say that?" Avoiding the topic was one of Ward's specialities and yet because Skye knew him, she also knew how to get him to spill.

"Umm... because ever since the two of you were paired up for the mission in Monaco things have changed. A lot." She started to say and went on before he could deflect the question again, "I mean, I know you'll have the whole friends with benefits thing going..." This time Ward interrupted her.

"Skye." He stared at her almost dumbfounded at her directness of judging the situation when he thought she possibly knew nothing.

"Okay okay... sorry, I meant to say the whole 'no strings attached' deal that the two of you have." Skye rephrased her sentence and noticed Ward's expression changing slightly.

"How did you even..." That's all he wanted to know first before anything else. Ward groaned inwardly as he realized that if Skye knew about his trysts with May then it was possible FitzSimmons also knew about it as well.

"I'm not an idiot Ward, we live on the same plane together for God's sake." She smiled, knowing it was probably the most obvious reason although she felt a little surprised he thought it was a secret; but then she realized that even though Jemma and May seemed to know _something_ about her and Coulson, no one had said anything specific.

"Right. Good point." Conceding to her logical explanation Ward decided that maybe if there was someone he could talk to it was Skye, "I just... I'm confused about this whole thing. That night in the mansion, it felt as if something changed between us... but we haven't really gotten around to talking about it at all." He sighed as he leaned back against the sofa with his eyes closed.

"Hey... listen to me Ward, there's no reason to sound like you've given up already." Skye said to him, "Look, all you need to do is stop wasting time and just go talk to her as soon as the opportunity presents itself. Keeping all these feelings to yourself isn't going to help the situation..." She knew that he was listening to every word she said but as she heard her own voice speaking about him and May, she couldn't help but wonder if this was the right moment to go and talk to Coulson now that he was back and probably alone in his office.

"You're right." Ward replied as he managed a half smile, "I guess I just needed to hear it from a friend. Thank you Skye." He did feel better after talking to her.

"No problem, all I did was paraphrase what I read in Cosmo." It was the light-hearted joke she knew was more for herself than for him but it worked either way because Ward did laugh at her comment.

"Right. Good to know you rely on Cosmo tips for dating advice Skye." Feeling the relaxed mood around them, Ward debated over something for a moment when he remembered May's comment only a few minutes ago. "Say... didn't I just hear that we're headed to Boston right away? That's pretty close to New York isn't it?" He couldn't help but wonder if FitzSimmons knew about this too and as if on cue, he saw them arriving there.

"There's a mission briefing in 10 minutes. Agent Coulson just informed us when we were headed to the lab; did he say where we're going to?" Fitz asked as he sat down next to Ward while Simmons took the empty seat beside Skye.

"Boston apparently." Skye repeated Ward's statement and then it hit her what he was referring to. New York. Just thinking about it made her feel an uneasiness settling in her stomach as she realized the implications of the new mission which could end up being more dangerous than Monaco, but for completely different reasons.

"Wow. Boston? I'm surprised we're going so close to the East Coast. All our missions have seemed to stay away from those cities because of obvious reasons." Jemma exclaimed but seemed more happy about this new development.

All Skye could think of in that moment was the urgent need to talk to Coulson about this as soon as it was possible. Tonight, hopefully if things worked out in her favor. After everything they had all gone through as a team, the one unspoken rule had always seemed to be that there would not be any missions assigned to them near New York City. The only thing she wanted to know wasn't any mission details, nor any plans to have her work any systems, but why Coulson had accepted this job.

Evening came and went, followed by night and it was only late after midnight did Skye make up her mind to get out of bed and go for a cup of hot chocolate. She had been restless ever since the meeting had finished in the afternoon; once Coulson had joined them in the briefing room followed by May when they were well on their way to Boston, things had gotten busy, hectic and impossible for her to even find a second of spare time to ask Coulson if she could talk to him. By the time the team had called it a night, she had resolved to try again tomorrow but when she realized sleep was evading her, Skye reluctantly left her warm bunk and began to walk towards the bar, rubbing her arms to build some heat for as soon as she stepped into the corridor, it was _cold_ all around! Speeding up her pace and still caught up in her thoughts about wanting to talk to Coulson and feeling frustrated that after the hug they hadn't had really spoken to each other, she didn't look up in time to see the taller figure in front of her whom she walked into.

"Oof!" Skye bumped into a soft pillar and looked up to see that it was not a pillar but rather Coulson himself who instantly reached out to steady her. "A.C. Sorry, I didn't see where I was going." She blurted out before he could say anything.

"It's alright Skye, you're not hurt are you?" Coulson asked, still holding her shoulders because he really hadn't expected to find her tonight and was relieved that it was just the two of them at last.

"Hurt? No. Not at all, I'm perfectly fine. It turns out that the pillar I thought I walked into was more softer and firm and well-built than I thought." Skye rambled before widening her eyes and biting her lower lip when she realized she had said all those words out loud; the blush was already starting to creep its way to her cheeks that were flustered and her gaze fell to the floor.

Coulson had heard her loud and clear but while he smiled on hearing those words, he also knew that Skye was feeling a little embarrassed and so instead of saying anything about that he chose to switch to a safer topic and hopefully if they weren't interrupted then maybe this was the chance he had been looking for.

"How about some hot chocolate? You look like you could use some. I just finished heating a mug from the thermos that Simmons left behind after dinner." Coulson said to her.

"Sure. I'd like that." Daring to look up, she saw the smile on his face and felt the butterflies in her stomach flying all around, they were close enough to each other for Skye to feel warm again and she finally dropped her hands back down to her sides.

It was only then and the fact that she had stepped back a little bit did Coulson let his gaze shift from her face lower as he noticed what she was wearing tonight before looking up again with... a hint of surprise mixed with happiness? Skye didn't register his reaction until she looked at her night clothes.

"Oh!" Mentally whacking herself for dressing up in this of all the pj's she owned, Skye waited to see if Coulson would laugh or say something to her.

She blamed the stupid cold weather of December that had forced her to stop wearing night gowns and stick to pajama's for the most part. And honestly, neither had she planned on choosing this particular outfit nor had she expected her to ever find herself face to face with Coulson dressed in a Captain America oversized t-shirt. As if remembering something else, Skye turned slightly and checked the pj's to see that there indeed was a band of three stripes on either side - red, white and blue. By now, she knew the redness of her cheeks were flaming in the heat of knowing Coulson was staring at her in silence observing her from a few feet away and all she could do was cover her face with both hands.

"Hey... what's wrong Skye?" Coulson had been quietly watching her come to the realization of what she was wearing and her reaction was a little different than what he thought it would be. "I thought you were more of an Iron Man fan." He added, hoping to make her feel less embarrassed than she was and wondered if he should take her hands in his, away from hiding her face.

"I was. I mean... I am." Skye whispered softly but she didn't move her hands, "Trust me, you don't want to see that." She dared to say as she caught a whiff of hot chocolate in the air and knew that Coulson had heated a cup for her.

"I didn't know they even made night clothes for the Avengers to be honest." Grinning to himself as he left the mug on the counter beside his, Coulson didn't think about it for another second and gently took a hold of Skye's hands in his as he lowered them down from her face.

"Neither did I." Skye wasn't sure if she wanted to admit that it was actually something of a personal secret she had planned on keeping to herself, not just from him but the rest of the team, _even_ Jemma. It was a childish thing she knew but whenever she felt like it, sometimes she would get better sleep when wearing one of her Avengers night clothes. "I just... umm... I didn't know what I was wearing." Was all she said to him, well aware that they were still holding hands and neither one made a move to let go.

"Well you look... nice. It suits you." Coulson paused as he tried to find the right words to say something to her, why was it so hard for him to suddenly compliment her when all along he'd always been able to tell her how beautiful she was, no matter what she wore.

"Thanks. I didn't realize you were awake so late tonight." She thought about her decision this afternoon but all she could remember was bits and pieces of her talk with Ward, all other coherent thoughts seemed to have vanished the moment Coulson's hands touched her.

"I guess its a habit of sorts. You're awake too." He pointed out as they finally sat down at the bar and took their respective mugs of hot chocolate to hold onto.

"Yes. I am. I was actually hoping to talk to you about something." Seeing herself in Captain America clothes had made her recall the worry about their new mission in Boston; it was so close to New York City, so close to where they all were. Not just Captain America himself... the other Avengers were there too. More than that, Skye also knew that this was where the Battle of New York had taken place.

"What is it Skye?" Coulson noticed the sadness in her voice and placed a hand on top of hers. "You can ask me anything you want to."

"The mission. In Boston. Why... why did you take it?" She asked finally, knowing there was no point in trying to phrase it in any other way. "I mean... we've never gone to the East Coast all along and now..." Skye trailed off without finishing her sentence knowing that he already knew what she was going to say next.

"And now we're headed to the city right near where I died." It was blunt and direct but Coulson didn't want to shy away from it, not when they already knew everything that they had discovered about T.A.H.I.T.I almost a month ago. "The thing is, we weren't supposed to have any other missions until after the holidays ended and officially SHIELD does believe that we're on a month long break until the New Year, but when I got a call from Director Fury this morning and went to that meeting, I didn't get to see him but instead met Agent Hill. The details of our mission are pretty much classified for the moment like I mentioned in the briefing but it is more an off-the-book simple task for our specialists and if all goes well then we won't even be in Boston for too long."

"So... then, the chances of... them knowing you're in the vicinity are rare?" Skye spoke up after hearing all Coulson had to say.

"Well, I wouldn't be too sure about that." Coulson didn't elaborate on this point any further but he knew she could see the hidden smile, whatever he was planning had to remain a secret from her until the time was right.

"Okay... that's about as cryptic as you can get A.C?" She teased, wanting to know more. "Come on, give me something here! At least tell me if they know you're... still... alive." Skye was still not used to talking about him with words like 'alive' or 'dead' even if it was all in the past; she herself had gone through the same thing and while it had bonded them on a closer level, Skye didn't always bring it up whenever they talked about it.

"Yes." It was okay for him to tell her this much but ever since he had thought of this secret a few hours ago, he didn't want to spoil the surprise. "They all know about my being alive but not the details of it; that's still between you and I." He added as an afterthought; there was no one else he trusted to know the truth about the GH 325. Not yet.

"Really? But are you going to go to New York if you get the chance?" Skye wasn't just curious to know more about his life before everything had changed, she wanted to know if he _could_ talk about it.

"Possibly, we'll have to see how things work out." He hadn't thought about anything else when he started to talk but for some reason, all these questions that Skye kept asking him, it made him want to tell her more. "I haven't been there in almost 2 years now so I guess it would be good to visit the Stark Tower again and see everyone. After the Battle of New York was over and we'd won, this secret of me still being alive was kept hidden up until only a few weeks ago and when you asked me about learning how to dance that night in Monaco, it reminded me of all the friends I'd left behind but I was glad to know that Director Fury had allowed the Avengers to know the truth." Coulson was only just starting to realize this was the first time he'd actually talked about this for such a long time with anyone but knowing it was Skye made him forget about all other doubts as he went on with his tale.

Skye who was always a patient listener when she needed to be sat in the same position with the stool angled towards his as she heard him continue talking a little bit about all those details that he never mentioned when the Avengers initiative came into play and how he had been involved in recruiting almost every single one of the members personally and being at the front of everything when the invasion had begun; it was a bit of a long story but to Skye, when he finally finished, it felt as if only mere minutes had passed by. Now that she knew everything that Coulson had gone through, a new and different thought came in her mind - she might have been thinking about herself if anyone else heard her statement but to her, mentally, all she knew was that she was only thinking about Coulson. Here was a man who had gone through so much in his life, someone who had devoted all these years to an organization he believed in more than anyone else, a fallen soldier in battle who was brought back to life through nothing less than a miracle, a person who had experienced so much pain and sadness and disappointment in realizing everything he believed to be true turned out be false and filled with lies and yet, in spite of all this and more, he still had hope. Hope for things to change one day, to become better, to help build a world where they all could be as safe as possible.

So what was Skye thinking when she thought that of all the people, Coulson would be someone she could have a future with; her past was a mystery, her present was made up of lies, her future seemed unknown to her almost everyday even though she had found a place in his team with SHIELD, she was so much younger than him, she could be childish at times and didn't obey the rules, even going as far as _disobeying_ him sometimes if it was extreme. He needed a partner who was not just his equal but someone who could provide a sense of stability and security in the midst of all this chaos that they lived in day in and day out; and now Skye wasn't even sure if she could be that person for him. Coulson deserved better. Only when this realization struck her did she decide that no matter what her feelings were, even if she loved him with all her heart, perhaps they were not meant to be... the ache within her started to grow stronger and she felt the sadness overwhelming her entire body as she sat there and if she stayed any longer then he would see the tears which she knew were not far away. She had to leave. Now.

"I should probably try and get some sleep." Not sure of what she had last heard, Skye hoped that this didn't sound too abrupt and out of nowhere to him. They had finished their hot chocolate a long time ago and perhaps the discussion was long finished as well.

"It is pretty late." Coulson nodded as he noticed the time, "Do you want me to walk you back to your bunk?" He asked her, and then saw that Skye was biting her lip again but something was different.

"No, I'll be okay. Thanks." Skye mumbled, her mind still distracted by his words and her decision that as she stood up to make her way past the corridors and to the bunks, she didn't really notice when she reached out to place a light kiss on his cheek.

In all honesty, she hadn't planned it nor did she even consider doing something so bold as this but during that split second, everything just came to her almost automatically and she acted on instinct. Or impulse. Maybe both. Skye was vaguely aware of her lips brushing the lower part of his cheek, close to his jaw and then she pulled back but found that her feet didn't want to move or that they couldn't. She raised her eyes to meet his and saw the hunger reflected there as he bent down slightly, closing the distance between them and she reached up to meet him halfway; their lips finding each other at last as they kissed. Coulson raised a hand to cup her cheek while the other slid around her waist and pulled her into him, while Skye threw both her arms around his neck as she deepened the kiss, parting her mouth ever-so-slightly and moaned something incoherent when she felt his tongue caressing her lips before he captured the second moan that threatened to escape her a second time with his lips. They were both lost in that moment as their bodies slowly mingled into one and almost as soon as it had begun, Skye gasped suddenly and broke apart as if realizing what she had just done.

"Skye..." Hearing her name being whispered so softly from his lips, she was barely able to meet his eyes and saw something there she thought she would never see; the way he was looking at her, still holding her by the waist, kissing her back and not stopping, it could mean...

"No, no..." She backed away from him shaking her head, trying to make sense of what had just happened and to make all these conflicting thoughts disappear. Her hand was hovering over her mouth as she kept walking backwards not sure what she could do or say to him.

Before another word was spoken, Skye turned around and ran away from the bar leaving Coulson behind to stand there and watch as she disappeared without saying anything. She dared not look behind and as soon as she was gone, he sat down on the stool once again but instead of looking shocked or saddened by this, he surprised even himself when he realized that he was still smiling. Touching his lips where he could still feel her, Coulson knew that this was better than any dream he could ever have and if Skye had made the first move by kissing him then it could mean only one thing - she loved him as well.

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**Uh-oh cliffhanger again! Sorry about that... and before anyone starts to get idea's about me trying to sink my own ship, let me just say that its normal for Skye to have some doubts of her chances with Coulson, not her feelings... but it'll all get resolved in chapter 10 which should be up by the weekend and will pick up from where we left off! Thoughts? **


	10. I Love You

**New chapter time! We're finally at the big turning point... woohoo! I'd just like to say "Thank You" to my usual reviewers - Wolfca, byLunaA, Precious Heart Beats, Ace, firerosedreamer67, tptrek and my guest reviewer for their comments as always! Without wasting any more time... presenting... the first time Skye & Coulson say "I love you" to each other! ^_^**

**Disclaimer: Almost forgot about this. Oh well, I own nothing of Marvel nor AoS.**

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In the minutes that passed by since their kiss and Skye's sudden move to run away, Coulson kept replaying the events of what had occurred only moments ago and the more he thought about it, the more he found himself remembering the conversation he'd had with Ward once, about women being like puzzles and solving them was a challenge that came with its own rewards. He knew now that Skye was most definitely a unique puzzle, and if her running away changed anything it was only his resolve to do everything he could to try and figure out the why's and how's of this matter. She was special and certainly worth it. Coulson now had a single thought on his mind, he was determined to tell Skye that he loved her and hoped she would admit to feeling the same as well. At first he wondered if waiting until the morning was a good idea or not, seeing as it was unlikely they would get more than a moment's time to breathe around the others, which meant that he would have to talk to her now; that was when he realized something interesting. Glancing around the bar Coulson noted that instead of heading the way she had come in, Skye had run in the opposite direction which would have led her downstairs.

"I guess it's now or never." Musing to himself out loud as he left the bar and began to make his way to the lab, Coulson wondered if he could learn of a specific reason for Skye's abrupt departure without saying a word.

He knew that it couldn't have been the kiss... because if it was... it could only have been because she had initiated it first and it was completely unexpected, catching them both off guard. The low thrum of the Bus was relaxing and as he walked past the corridors towards the staircase, a sudden thought came to his mind; just before he reached the last step and found himself facing Lola and the van, Coulson slipped inside the lab where he knew FitzSimmons stored extra supplies for the team whenever the winter season was upon them and found what he was looking for in a matter of several minutes. Once he had what he needed, Coulson walked over to the van whose doors had been left open on either side and sure enough, Skye was inside seated over on the far side with her legs pulled up against her chest; her eyes were closed and she hadn't yet noticed his presence but he knew that she would soon and so he took this moment to gaze at her, all the while thinking to himself of how lucky he was to have found her that day in Los Angeles. He couldn't imagine what his life at S.H.I.E.L.D. would have been like once he returned if she hadn't been a part of his team and he knew in all his heart that he hadn't loved anyone as he loved her.

As if she could read his mind, Skye suddenly opened her eyes and sensing him nearby saw that he was standing outside the van but still not making a move to sit inside. They both met each other's gazes and as if remembering what she had done after breaking apart from the kiss, Skye turned away and rested her head on her knees. Since she hadn't said anything about him leaving, Coulson took her silence to mean that he was allowed to join her. Sliding into the passenger seat wordlessly, he closed the door behind him and then... reached forward, closing the distance between him and Skye, whose only reaction was slight erratic breaths, Coulson placed one arm around the head-rest of her seat and using his free hand, pulled the door next to Skye shut as well. Just before he straightened himself, he noticed that Skye was facing him again. It was time to end the silence between them.

"Here, take this. I don't want you catching a cold all by yourself if you're sitting in the van with the doors open." Handing her the blanket he had brought with him, Coulson watched as she waited for a second, possibly thinking if he would drape it around her or not, before taking the warm and soft blanket and wrapping it over her shoulders.

This was the opening he hoped she would take and say something to finally end the conflicting thoughts his mind was filled with; for while he didn't believe all of those questions and theories which would make him think that Skye did not love him and did not mean to kiss him, they were still there and he needed them to be disproven. She was the only one who could do that. And so, during the next couple of minutes, Coulson sat there in the passenger seat and waited patiently, giving Skye all the space and time she required. He was aware of the fact that she continued to stare at him all along and finally after what felt like an eternity between them, he heard her take a deep breath before the first words fell from her lips.

"I'm sorry." Skye paused only to glance at Coulson to see his reaction which was surprisingly, calm before she went on, "For running away I mean." Elaborating on her apology, she felt a sudden sense of relief at being able to talk openly and so she continued, "I don't usually do things that I don't plan on doing and this wasn't one of them either." The silliness of how she must have seemed to Coulson was still churning up unknown emotions within her and so she decided not to bring up the kiss just yet, there was a lot that Skye needed to tell him and she knew this was the right time to get everything out into the open.

"Skye..." Coulson started to say something but she cut him off before he could get any words out.

"Just... just hear me out okay?" Turning around in the seat so that her legs were angled in his direction, she faced him at last and saw the understanding in his eyes and hoped that she could do this. "I... I need to get this all out right here... right now because its been on my mind for a long time even though I may have only just realized that I needed to talk about it out loud. I don't really know where to begin." Shaking her head clear, Skye could feel the words on her lips but couldn't figure why they were stuck.

In that brief moment of Skye's hesitance, Coulson saw the look on her face and the sadness in her eyes as she struggled to get the words right; he assumed that her long pause all of a sudden was because she didn't want to say anything too direct or blunt which could hurt him or that she was still conflicted about revealing her feelings in front of him. Instead of speaking up, he simply reached out to place his hand on top of hers and when he caught her staring at him, he gave her a reassuring smile, hoping it would be enough. The last thing Coulson would ever want was for Skye to do something or say something that would make her uncomfortable but he also knew her very well and knew the determination in her eyes when he observed her then. Maybe this tiny gesture was really all that she needed.

"I guess I should start from the beginning since its the most obvious answer but before that, I have to say where this thing has suddenly come from and why... why it made me run." She could feel the rambling side of her coming to the surface but knowing that would just complicate things, Skye focused on the feeling of Coulson's hand in hers, for she hadn't let go of him.

"What you were talking about earlier, when the umm... topic about the Avengers came up and you started to tell me what really had happened in New York during the battle and how... what happened to you there... it made me realize something and I... I wasn't sure how I felt about that or what I thought about it. So I just left. And came here hoping that maybe I could make some sense of it all... but I don't think I've gotten very far in the last fifteen minutes or so." A small crack of a smile formed on her lips when she spoke and she knew Coulson was listening, "Hearing what you went through, what you did for them... I... it made me think about myself and... and I remembered that I'm not really the poster-girl for being a stand up kind of a person... I've never really had a chance to be _good_ or to be so selfless and do things for others without having to think how it would help me in any way nor do I know what it means like to be a part of something bigger and so... so... real as protecting the Earth and everyone living on this planet from aliens and Norse Gods and all the other things out _there_."

It was probably the very first point of Skye mentioning not having a chance to be good that had Coulson lean forward, wanting to say something but she shook her head and stopped only to catch her breath before going on with her explanation.

"I know what you're going to say A.C. I'm not just talking about my past because you already know about that... lying my way into the team, hiding my secret from you and the others, betraying your trust, disobeying orders... the whole deal. There's more to it though. These last few days that have gone by ever since we got back from Monaco, I've been thinking about it now and I realize that my behavior has seemed so... childish and unnecessary and selfish because I never once stopped to think how that night must have affected you. I saw you there, on the balcony and..." Wincing as she remembered her attempts to seduce Daniel Quinn, she moved past that, "And even though I never meant to, I know it seems like I've been avoiding everyone since we got back even though that wasn't what I wanted... when I heard you talk about how your life was in the past, I saw the unwavering loyalty you have towards S.H.I.E.L.D. and your belief in the ideals of protecting people and fulfilling your duty... you're brave and yet merciful at the same time, you have a sense of knowing how people are like and want to do the right thing by them... you've been through so much and you still have hope that the world can be a better place, a safe place and someone like you deserves to be happy after all that you've done." Skye paused for a moment again and closed her eyes before finishing what she had started. "Regardless of what my feelings are, I shouldn't have sprung the kiss on you and even though I'm not sorry for that and I don't regret it... but... you're my boss and mentor and you're twice my age and the rules do forbid things like inter-relationships for good reason and I don't know if... maybe... maybe sometimes some things aren't meant..."

This time, Coulson didn't wait for Skye to interrupt him because the moment he heard her acknowledge that she did _truly_ have feelings for him and heard what she was trying to say, he understood what she was going through and he stopped her mid-sentence as he held a finger to her lips. Now that he was aware of everything, Coulson decided that it was time he spoke up because no matter what Skye tried to tell him, he knew that she was unsure of herself and he would be the one to remind her that she was more important than she believed and good and deserving of happiness herself and all the love he could possibly give her because even if they seemed like a mismatched or unexpected pair, they were like pieces of a puzzle that fit together.

"I know what you're going to say and before you finish that last sentence... let me say what I have to first and then... we'll see where to go from there." He said as he waited for Skye's approval in the form of a nod and removed his finger from her lips, knowing she wouldn't interrupt him either.

"You may be right about everything you just said about yourself but what you don't remember is that there is so much more to who you are Skye... you've changed from the person you were on the day I first met you. You're a kind person, caring and very resourceful. You have a way with people too because you feel empathy differently than others, you never give up on anyone or anything because you believe that if there is a chance to help someone you'll find it, you're clever and think outside the box which has been proven a very useful talent many times, but more than that... you're compassionate. You wear your heart on your sleeve and are honest about your thoughts and feelings. And given all _you_ have gone through in your life, knowing what you know about yourself, even if it feels less than what you expected, you also hold on to the hope that one day you'll find out the truth about who you are and who your parents were... you have a strength inside yourself that you're not always aware of but I've seen it firsthand and I know that you believe that everyone deserves a second chance, to be a better person than they were in the past... as for everything you said about me... there may be a few things you still don't know." Coulson paused then, waiting for only a minute because he was ready to tell Skye everything.

All this while, Skye had been listening patiently to Coulson's words and tried her best not to let him see the tears forming in her eyes which was hard since they were still staring at each other. Without saying a word, he reached out to wipe away her cheeks and smiled when he felt her hands intertwined in his.

"You mentioned the things you've done in the past and how you've changed since then... what you don't know is that I wasn't always the way you see me today. I've been trying to change myself from the day we both realized that there's more to what meets the eye when it comes to S.H.I.E.L.D. and its secrets and when I learned how I was saved. You said that you've unintentionally ended up avoiding me but the truth is, I was doing the same... its hard for me to completely distance myself from you because we're still a team and we work together, but... today... when I went to that meeting, I discovered something more than what I knew about who I really am... and I don't even remember it. This actually started the day we went to the Hub for our mission debriefing and May came to me later that evening with something she had found... part of the reason why Maria met me in Illinois was to confirm my doubts..." Coulson watched Skye's reaction and saw that she was looking worried, he needed to tell her the truth now. "There was a video... about Project T.A.H.I.T.I. when it initially began... as a way to help save the Avengers if it ever came to that... and... I saw that the person who gave the orders for this experimental treatment... was... me."

"How is that possible?" Skye spoke up at last, her voice a soft whisper, "How do you not remember?" It was the only thing on her mind just then.

"They must have wiped it from my memory... the video showed that I decided the risk was too dangerous and I told Director Fury I would be resigning, the project needed to be shut down." A shadow of pain crossed his features then and Skye noticed it for she used her free hand to cup his cheek and look at her once again.

"I didn't know when I was going to tell you this and I admit to being a little worried about how you would react once you found out the truth; but we can get to that later... my point is... that I'm not as perfect as you think I am Skye... I died... I've had my belief in the system shaken... things are changing and the world we live in is a dangerous place... but if there's ever any hope of happiness, I know that I've found that in you. No matter what our past lives have been, we know each other in the present and even if we're a little broken or imperfect, we're kind of right for each other. I don't know when I started to have feelings for you, but I do know that I've had them for quite some time now and I know that the kiss wasn't one-sided and not a mistake either. If you're worried about all those reasons you've listed why this is not meant to be, then you should know there's only one reason why I know this can work - Love. I love you, Skye. And if you love me too then it will be enough... to find a way to be together, to take a chance at happiness, to finally live the life we want."

As he fell silent and waited for Skye to say something, Coulson knew that there was a very high possibility that he had gottten through to her. It didn't take long for a reaction on her part because the moment Skye had heard those three words from his lips, she felt all her fears and doubts and worries vanishing as they were all replaced by happiness, joy, and awe when she realized that Coulson did love her. Leaning forward to close the distance between them, Skye grabbed his collar and pulled him for another kiss; the moment he felt her lips brushing against his, Coulson wrapped an arm around her waist.

Once they broke apart, Skye noticed that somehow, in the midst of their second kiss, she had ended up leaving the seat and found herself in Coulson's lap. He seemed to be aware of this but didn't say anything as he continued to hold her in his arms and was busy leaving kisses down her left shoulder. It was only when she giggled did he pause to look at her and when he did, she gave him a tiny peck each time as she said those words back to him.

"I. Love. You. Too." And she sealed it with another deep kiss.

For a while after, the two of them stayed in the van sitting together in the same position as earlier; only now, Skye was resting her head on Coulson's shoulder with a big smile on her face while he was distracted with twirling a strand of her hair. This was what it truly felt like to be happy and to be in love, it was only the beginning and he knew there was all the time in the world for them to spend together. Their peaceful bliss was suddenly disturbed when they both heard the beeping noise from Coulson's watch going off.

"6 am already." He said to Skye when she looked at him, "We've been awake all night." There was really no need for them to leave but Coulson could see the tiredness creeping in Skye and knew he had to take her back to her room.

"Where do we go from here?" She asked before he moved her slightly giving them enough space to exit the van even though she didn't have enough energy left, Skye managed to stand on both feet with ease; the night had been long and emotionally taken a toll on her.

Taking her hands in his, Coulson placed a kiss on them both as they walked together upstairs as he debated how much of the secret he should reveal to her.

"Well... first things first, I guess we'll have to tell the others soon enough. May already knows a little bit and I think Jemma..." Trailing off to see what Skye had to say about her friend, he noticed her blush and grinned.

"She knows everything. Or at least, she seems to. Even before either of us knew, she was already suspicious." Skye confessed, "What about Ward and Fitz? They don't seem to be aware of anything at all." She was a little surprised that both boys had turned out to be so clueless. Had she and Coulson really not been so obvious?

"If I'm not mistaken then Ward is a little pre-occupied with feelings of his own." Coulson replied, wondering if Skye knew. May had been the one to reveal her dalliance with Ward only a few months ago and believed it was still a secret from the others.

"I know, he mentioned some of it yesterday after we finished training." A sudden thought came to her mind and she couldn't help herself from giggling, causing Coulson to stop and stare at her wondering what had gotten into her.

"Did I miss something?" His hand was still holding hers but that didn't stop him from raising a curious and questioning eyebrow at her.

"No, sorry... I just... I thought of something funny just now. We've been talking about each other's relationships on the Bus and who knows about whom - May and Jemma know about us, we know about May and Ward, it sounds like something out of a soap opera!" Skye exclaimed and then realized something. "Wait. What about FitzSimmons?" Her eyes widened at that thought as she glanced to see Coulson's confused reaction.

"What about them?" For a moment he didn't know what Skye was trying to say but then looking at her expression he understood that she was asking if there was something going on between their other two teammates. "Oh." Was all he said as he stood there, wondering about what she had brought up.

"Do you think...?" She started to say but immediately covered her mouth with her free hand just then.

It was as if they were going to get the answer to Skye's question in that very moment without them having to debate over the topic; as soon as Skye had stopped giggling, one of the bunk door's opened and a sleepy looking teammate of theirs stepped outside, with complete ruffled hair and half-closed eyes, who was busy trying to stifle a yawn and hadn't noticed Coulson or Skye standing across, not more than 5 feet away.

"_Fitz_? Where is he going at this time of the morning?" Unsure if he could hear her, Skye's question seemed to be directed to Coulson who was trying his best to hide a knowing smirk from Skye.

"To his room apparently." He replied, waiting to see if Skye had figured it out yet. The morning had barely just begun and already it was turning out to be a pleasant day.

"What?" Skye turned around to the door which was still open but dark, then to Fitz who was still dragging his feet past the other rooms and back to Coulson as it struck her. "OH MY GOD!" She nearly screamed causing Coulson to hush her with his hand over her mouth.

Unfortunately, Fitz had heard her and he slowly turned around to see Skye standing a little far away from where he was but didn't register Coulson beside her covering her mouth with his hand.

"Morning Skye." He mumbled to her as he ran a hand over his hair trying to fix it. "I was just... going to my room. Went to say g'night to my girl."

"LEO!" Another loud voice similar to Skye's scream ended the slight awkwardness between the trio as Jemma stepped out of the door through which Fitz had just left; she was still dressed in her night clothes and looked more awake than Fitz but still flustered to see Skye and Coulson standing there.

"Huh?" Fitz walked back to where everyone now stood and blinked his eyes to see Jemma standing there looked stunned to have been caught by Skye... and Coulson. "Oh. Sir, good morning." He hadn't noticed Coulson the first time around but now he was more alert.

"Good morning to you to Fitz." He had dropped his hand and found Skye taking it in hers before Jemma even came outside saving _them_ the embarassment of being caught.

Apparently the hand-holding was an obvious sign to the young agent for before anyone could explain anything as to why Fitz was sneaking out of Jemma's room at 6 in the morning or that Skye and Coulson were awake having come from downstairs most likely, together; she was hugging Skye and trying her best not to squeal too loudly as she put two and two to figure out what had just transpired.

"Skye! I'm so happy for you! When did all this happen? Have you been awake all night? And..." Before Jemma could finish her incessant questioning, there was another unexpected surprise when the second bunk door opened and Ward poked his head outside, wearing only pajama's and no shirt.

"What is going on out here? Are we having another meeting?" He asked them, confused by everyone's presence at such an early hour.

"I think we should all probably go to our individual rooms and get some sleep." Coulson managed to get an entire sentence out with zero interruptions or comments from Jemma or Skye or Fitz but the surprises weren't over yet.

With all of them gathered around in the corridor, Skye and Coulson standing on one side, Jemma beaming brightly next to them and Fitz finally wide awake standing beside her, it seemed that they had just realized the Bus was no longer airborne but seemed to have been stationary in the same landing spot as it had been for at least two hours now. Which meant that if May wasn't in the cockpit flying them to Boston then she was...

"Coulson's right. We have a couple of hours left until the next mission briefing in the afternoon so let's sleep." May's voice rung out as she appeared suddenly, behind Ward, looking completely unabashed wearing only a robe.

For about 30 seconds as they each realized what was going on; Coulson thought if Skye was the one who would break the silence first and surely enough, she did speak up but instead of echoing his sentiments that they should probably talk about this later that afternoon, her comment was directed to Ward.

"Good to see you finally took my advice." She couldn't help herself from saying so to him as she turned her giggle into a silent grin.

"It looks like you took your own advice too." He replied back with a smile of his own as he stared pointedly at Skye and Coulson's hands which were still entwined together.

That was the cue for everyone to finally let loose and they all laughed out together, marveling at the silliness of this unexpected situation they had found themselves in. It was probably not the best way for each of them to find out about the other but now that everyone was officially a couple with their respective partners, it was time to sleep again. After the laughter had died down and a rush of quick goodnight's were finished followed by another round of hugs from Jemma, Fitz, Ward to Skye, she and Coulson were the only ones standing in the corridor minutes later.

"Well that was... exciting." She said to him as they walked all the way to Coulson's office where they would definitely have a private moment.

"Just another day in the life of a S.H.I.E.L.D. soap opera." Coulson added with a wink to Skye who laughed as she shook her head, slipping her hand out of his as she turned to walk to her bunk.

"Goodnight A.C." There was one last thing she had to do; standing up a little on her toes so that she was on the same height as Coulson, she gave him a quick kiss.

"Goodnight Skye." His lips brushed against her ear as he whispered softly, not ready to let go of her just yet, pulled her back into his arms in a hug.

And so the two of them stood there with Skye leaning against his left side, her head resting near his chest with her arms around his middle while Coulson bent down to place a gentle kiss on her forehead, holding her waist as he sighed happily. This was what it felt like to be content he thought to himself - in the arms of the woman he loved.

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**Aww! Look at that, a surprise appearance by _all_ the team members! Ha... reviews? xD**

**A/N: Tiny sad news for you all... I've only just found out that my tickets to USA have been booked for 14th most likely so I've been in a mad rush to start closing up the house... which means... the story will have to go on a temporary tiny hiatus because I don't know when I'll update next. There's still chapters 11-18 left in this story but but but... don't worry, I'll still be writing everyday, so whenever I find free time to post new chaps I'll do it asap. Hopefully once a week might work? I'll keep you all updated though cause "Unknown Origins" and my Untitled AU Fic will have to wait until I get to California! **


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